Gathering Storm
by xoemac
Summary: [Alternate Series 4] PandoraX wasn't an accident. It was only the first act in the final battle between light and dark. Now only the Mall Rats can stand against the coming darkness.


Mandatory Disclaimers: The characters from the Tribe are the property of Cloud 9. No infringement on anyone's rights is intended. The characters you've never heard of are my own creation and belong to me. Direct comments, praise, flames etc. to ---- xoemac@earthlink.net

THE TRIBE: GATHERING STORM

Alternate Series 4

Part I

PRELUDE.

In the far off mountains lies one of the most secret government facilities in the country. It appears on no map, there are no road signs letting passersby know it's there. Even the military base two miles distant has no idea it's there.

The Complex as those who work there know it was constructed inside the very mountain. Tunnels and chambers dug deep into the rock face and beneath the ground stretch for miles. Every form of research is carried out here in the utmost secrecy, from space research to new defense system tests to viral and biological research. 

There is no more secure place in the world for this sort of work than the Complex. With the touch of a switch, it can seal itself off from the rest of the outside world completely. It generates it's own oxygen from a hydroponics level where they also grow their own food. A million-gallon subterranean water tank supplies its drinking water. Solar panels around the mountain generate its electrical power. If need be the Complex can exist sealed off for a period of up to two years.

The government outdid itself with the design of the Complex. Any scientist or researcher would give anything for the chance to work there. They would if they knew about it that is. Officially, it does not even exist. And on this day one of the people assigned there wishes that it didn't exist at all.

"Call it off!"

Brigadier General Thomas Styles head of the Complex looked up as the door to his office burst open. He casually put down his pen and regarded the young man standing before him with annoyance. "Is there something you want Doctor Young?"

Young slammed his fist down on the General's desk. "Did you really think we wouldn't find out?"

"The decision was need to know Doctor." Styles sat back in his chair. "And frankly you and your staff didn't need to know."

"We won't allow this. A live test was never part of the program."

"It is now." Styles got up to face the young doctor. "The government has spent millions of dollars in research and they want to see what they paid for."

"You can't do this." He stood nose to nose with the general. "I'll go to the Committee to stop this if I have to."

Styles was unconcerned about the implied threat. "The Committee has already made it's decision Doctor. They have given the test their full endorsement. Deployment on Karien Island base will begin as soon as the anti-viral is completed."

"Styles listen to me. We can't do this." Young was almost pleading. "We don't know what will happen. Even Karien Island may not be far enough away if something goes wrong."

"That is precisely why we're waiting for the results of your work Jason."

"And if I refuse to continue work on the anti-viral?"

The general looked at him coldly. "That is not even an option." He pressed a button and a guard came in. "Sergeant escort Doctor Young back to Level 19. He has a lot of work to do and the clock is ticking."

Several minutes later Jason was pacing around his office. The first thing he did was to try to telephone the Committee to somehow convince them that this was a mistake. He never got through. All the phone lines from the Complex had been shut down on the orders of the General.

There was only one other thing he could do. After speaking with his two colleagues, who agreed with him completely, Jason did what he had to do. He went to his computer and quickly composed several emails and sent them out. After that he went into the mainframe and effectively ended his career with a few keystrokes.

No sooner had he finished then the door to his office was kicked in and General Styles came in followed closely behind by his aid Colonel Calder. Styles pulled his service weapon and pointed it at Young.

"Move away from the computer." He ordered.

He got up from his chair and his place was taken immediately by Calder. "You won't find what you're looking for."

Colonel Calder made a quick directory search. "I'm sorry sir. The Level 19 hard drives have been completely erased there's nothing left. Several emails were sent out before hand but there's no way to trace them."

"Where did you send the data?" When Jason didn't answer Styles pointed his gun at his head. "Where?"

"Kill me and you'll never get the anti-viral. I want to talk to the Committee."

The man glared at him in a rage. He lowered his weapon and then in a quick flash slammed the butt of the gun against Jason's head knocking him unconscious.

Calder merely watched at this uncharacteristic display of violence from his commanding officer. "General we need to inform the Committee of this incident and postpone the test." Styles ignored him and stared down at the man sprawled out on the floor. "General? The test. We can't proceed without the anti-viral if there was some kind of accident….." Getting nowhere Calder took it upon himself to do what was right. He picked up the telephone. "Get me an outside line."

The general slowly became aware of what was happening. "No." He whispered. Because his back was to him, Calder never saw the general raise his weapon and fire. "No. No more waiting." Calder fell to the floor. Taking the receiver from the dead man's hand the general spoke. "Omega 1 please." He waited several seconds before hearing a beep. "This is General Styles. I wish to inform you that we're ready to proceed. PANDORAX will be released on schedule."

General Styles placed his weapon back in his holster and sat down in Young's chair gently rubbing his left temple with his fingers as a low voice slowly echoed the same words repeatedly in his mind. "Power and Chaos."

PART 1

"It's no good Bray I can't walk anymore." Amber held on tightly to his shoulder as she settled down onto the ground. It's been two days since they were banished from the city and they have been on the move almost constantly since then trying to find some safe place to hold up until their baby is born.

Amber grimaced in pain as another contraction hit. Bray was by her side holding onto her hand. "That's it Amber breathe." He exhaled with her as the contraction subsided. "It's not going to be much longer." He wiped her forehead with a cloth. "The contractions are getting closer and closer together."

"I know. I was hoping we could make it to the village before the baby came."

Unknown to both of them a hooded figure was observing them from the safety of the forest line. The figure watched as another contraction came and went. She inched closer hoping to get close enough without being seen to hear what they were saying.

As she came closer Amber had another contraction but this one was different it didn't feel like the others. Amber screamed out in pain. "Aaaaahhhhh!!!!" She held her stomach. "Bray! Something's wrong!" Bray rushed to her side and held onto to her as another painful contraction hit. "The baby Bray! Something's happening to our baby!"

The hooded girl appears from the trees. Bray instinctively tries to rise to protect Amber but holding her like he was he is unable to. The girl raises her hands indicating she was not armed. "Please I'm not going to hurt you."

"What do you want?" Bray asked.

"To help." The girl replied. "I know someone who can help your friend. I can take you to him if you'll let me."

"She can't travel far in her condition."

"She doesn't have to. His place isn't far from here."

Bray looked at the girl in the hooded cloak. He couldn't see her face but there was something about her voice, something familiar that made him believe that he could trust her. He looked at Amber who was barely conscious in his arms.

He slowly rose. "All right lead the way." The girl turned on her heels and started up the path with Bray carrying Amber in his arms following close behind.

About twenty minutes later Amber was laying on the bed in a cabin. Bray was sitting next to her stroking her hair and whispering to her. The girl who had brought them here had left to go find her friend. As Bray dipped the washcloth into the pan of water, the girl got for him the door to the cabin swung open. In walked a man wearing a hooded coat not unlike the one worn by the girl.

"What the hell is this?" He asked angered that someone dared to invade his home.

Bray rose. "We were brought here by a girl. She said you could help us." He gestured to Amber. "There's something wrong with the baby."

The stranger walked past Bray and bent down to examine her. "How far along is she?"

"The baby's due anytime. She's been having contractions for the past couple days."

He lifted amber shirt and felt around her stomach. He touched a spot and Amber winced in pain. "That's what I thought." He said to himself more than to Bray. "Where did Grace go?"

"Grace?"

"The girl who brought you here."

"She went to find you and to get everything she said you would need."

"She'd better hurry."

That comment made Bray want to panic. "What…. what is it? What's wrong?"

"The baby's turned. That's why she's in so much pain. If we don't maneuver it back into the right position we could lose it and maybe her too." He got up from the bed and went to hang up his coat. "Who are you? Where did you come from?" He asked from another room.

"My name is Bray and hers is Amber. We came from the city."

"The city? You traveled all that way with her so close to her due date?"

"We didn't have much choice." Bray moved back over to Amber and took her hand. "Look, who are you and how do you know so much about medicine?"

"I'm a doctor or at least I used to be." The man came from the other room and Bray stood up in shock. This was impossible he thought to himself, they were all dead, killed by the virus. But he couldn't deny the evidence of his own eyes. Standing before him was an adult. The man smiled at him. "My name is Jason Young."

PART 2

The mall was quiet which was unusual given the time of day. However, since the institution of marshal law following the exile of Bray and Amber no one seemed interested in trading. The other tribes were too busy kowtowing to Ebony so they can keep control of their respective sectors and the Mall Rats we're too shocked at what Ebony had done to worry about the market.

A lone figure walked through the empty stalls. She was too deep in thought to notice that anyone wasn't around. In fact, there was only one thing on her mind right now, one person to be exact. He'd gone off to sulk or wallow in self-pity before but it was different this time. The others may not notice but she did.

"Tai-San?"

She whirled around startled that someone had managed to sneak up on her. She was relived when she saw it was only Ryan. "Did you find him?" Ryan didn't meet her gaze. "Ryan?"

"Yeah…. I …." He stammered. "I found him."

"Where is he?"

"Look Tai-San he's all right."

"Ryan where is he?"

"He's at the gambling den." The moment Tai-San heard where Lex was she rushed passed Ryan and out of the mall. "Tai-San wait…." He started but she was already gone. 

Salene came in. "What's wrong with Tai-San? She almost knocked me over.

"I found Lex. It's bad Salene, he's been drinking again."

*~*

They move silently on the outskirts of the city weaving among the burned out cars and undergrowth careful to avoid being seen by any of the children. There were a few incidents as they approached the city but they were taken care of quietly and efficiently. This was a reconnaissance mission not a full-scale assault, as least not yet.

The lead commando held up his hand and the others halted. "Dig in." He said the mask he was wearing giving his voice an electronic tone. "We'll hold here." He took a small radio from his belt. "This is Scout 1. We're in position. We'll move into the city at nightfall and acquire the target."

*~*

"I had the place cleared out after Ryan left to get you." Pride said as he walked Tai-San into the now deserted gambling den. "I figured you wouldn't want an audience." He pointed to a curtain in the back. "He's in there."

"Thank you Pride." She took a deep breath and entered the room. Lex was sitting in the corner on the floor. A dozen or so empty wine bottles near him. She kneeled down in front of him the stench of liquor almost overwhelming her. "Lex?"

He groaned. "oh man….. do you have to shout?"

"I'm not shouting."

"Leave me alone Tai-San."

"I can't." She helped him up and into a chair. "Lex drinking yourself into a coma won't help."

"Says you." He laughed then grabbed his head. "oooowww."

"Doing this to yourself won't make you feel better about what you've done." She stuck her head out for a moment. A few seconds later Pride came in with a bowl of water. He told her that it was getting dark and that they should be getting back to the mall soon.

"And just what have I done?"

"You betrayed your friends. You allowed Ebony to exile Bray and Amber and did nothing to stop it."

"There was nothing I could do."

"You underestimate yourself and your abilities." Tai-San began wiping his face with a damp washcloth. "You have the potential to become a great leader Lex. Together with Amber and Bray you could have broken Ebony's hold on the city."

He pushed her hand away. "If you're so smart, why didn't I?"

She continued. "Because you're afraid."

Lex pushed her away and got up. "What am I afraid of?"

"Yourself." Tai-San sat back in her chair while Lex began to pace the room around her. "You're afraid of what might happen if you allow yourself to care, allow others to know that you care for them. You're afraid that people will think you're weak."

He tried to leave. "I'm not gonna listen to this garbage."

She stood up before him and he stopped. "You can't run away from this anymore. It's time to face your demons Lex. Face them and defeat them. If you can't there will be no hope that you can be the man I know you can be. And there will be no future for us."

*~*

Ebony was dreaming. She was standing on the roof of a downtown high-rise. Dark clouds swirled around the sky above her. Lightning flashed and the sound of thunder was deafening. The wind picked up and shivered slightly, the flimsy nightgown she was wearing offered little protection against the chill.

The lightning flashed again and Ebony caught a glimpse of someone standing near the edge of the building. "Hello?" She called out. The shape did not answer her. "Hello? Can you hear me? Where am I?"

As she came closer, the figure finally spoke. It was a woman. "Can you feel it?"

Ebony came to stand beside her. "Feel what?"

"It's coming."

The girl's voice was familiar and it wasn't until the lightning flashed the Ebony knew who it was. "Danni?"

Danni turned. Her dark hair was down and was flowing in the wind. She was wearing the same nightgown as Ebony only her's was the same shade of black as her hair. "It's coming Ebony. The storm."

Danni walked away and Ebony followed. "I don't understand."

Danni stopped. When turned around again her clothes had changed. She was dressed like she was when she first arrived at the mall. "There's a dark storm coming Ebony and you must choose."

"Choose? Choose what?"

Danni's clothes had changed again. Now she was wearing a long white dress. "Who will you serve?" Ebony followed Danni's gaze to the far side of the roof. A figure dressed in black was standing there with his hands crossed above his head. Ebony knew who it was. 

"Zoot." She whispered.

Danni asked again. "Who will you serve?"

The lightning flashed one final time and the dark figure shouted above the roar of thunder. "Power and chaos!!!!!"

PART 3

The lightning flashed one final time and the dark figure shouted above the roar of thunder. "Power and chaos!!!"

Ebony cringed as the thunder shook around her. Danni had turned and walked away again. Ebony caught up with her. "What's going on Danni?" She didn't answer. "Damn it answer me!" She grabbed her arm and whirled the girl around. "Now you tell me or so help me…."

"I'm not your enemy Ebony I never was." Danni raised her left arm and Ebony saw four figures. It was Bray, Amber, Tai-San and Lex. "And neither were they." She moved over to join them. "Together we can beat the coming darkness, but only if we're together. So I ask again, who will you serve?"

Lightning and thunder crashed again as Ebony started to back from the others. She bumped into someone behind her. She whirled around and saw a face from her nightmares. "Zoot!"

Zoot grabbed her by the throat and screamed at her. "WHO WILL YOU SERVE?!?!?"

Ebony shot upright in her bed screaming and clutching her throat. Several of her militia burst into her room to see what was wrong. She quickly sent them away. She got out of bed and went to the dresser. She poured herself a glass of water. She noticed her reflection in the mirror and saw something that chilled her blood. On her neck were the faint impressions of fingers.

*~*

On the journey back to the mall, Lex and Tai-San had not spoken a word to each other. It wasn't until they had reached their room that they had enough privacy to continue. Lex threw off his jacket. "What do you mean we have no future?"

Tai-San calmly put away her coat and tidied up the room as she answers. "Just what I said. If you continue the way you are going I can see nothing for us but pain."

"But we love each other Tai-San."

"We do. As long as you hide who you really are that won't ever be enough."

He scoffed. "Have you ever thought that maybe this is who I really am?"

She merely smiled. "I know who you are Lex and who you could be. You have such a terrible sadness inside of you that you think can only be filled by power and respect."

"What's wrong with wanting to be somebody?"

"Nothing, but what kind of somebody will you be if you lie, cheat, steal, bully and betray your way into power." She gently touched his cheek. "There's a choice to be made Lex. You're not a kid anymore, you're a man now. Let go of the past that haunts you and finally decide what kind of man you want to be."

*~*

Ebony was buttoning up her coat as she walked through the lobby of the hotel. "Get up you two." She shouted as she kicked a couch where two of her men were sleeping. One asked what was going on. "We're going to the mall." She didn't what for a response from them she just turned and left and they immediately followed. As they left the hotel, they were unaware that they were being observed.

Four men in black uniforms shadowed them. There were barely two blocks from the hotel before they made their move. They moved in quickly subduing Ebony's guards easily. Ebony tried fighting them off and actually managed to knock two of them to the ground before the leader pulled his weapon and hit her on the back of the head with butt.

"Pick her up." He told one of his men. As the soldier did one of Ebony's guards rushed him. The leader raised his weapon and shot him. At first the boy didn't know what had happened because the weapon was silenced but soon he noticed a dark stain appearing on his chest. He touched it and no sooner did he realize that it was blood, he fell dead. 

The leader spoke into his radio. "Scout 1 here. We have acquisition of target. Heading out to the rendezvous point."

*~*

Back at the cabin Amber was resting for the moment. Bray was staring at Jason in total shock. "You're an adult." He said in amazement. Jason said nothing. He just smiled and walked past Bray to check on Amber. "I don't understand. All the adults were supposed to have died from the virus."

"They'll be plenty of time for explanations after the baby is born." He stood up. 

"Is she all right?"

"For the moment. That shot I gave her has slowed the contractions but I don't dare give her anymore." He ran his hands through his hair. "Where the hell is Grace?" Almost as if on cue the door to the cabin swung open. "What the hell took you so long?"

She sat two gym bags down by the door. "Nice to see you too Doc." She took off her coat and hung it up. "Bye the way Nika says you owe her huge for this one. I practically wiped out her entire private stash." The girl finished fixing her hair and turned around. Bray's jaw dropped when he saw her. No wonder her voice sounded so familiar. Her hair was shorter now, barely shoulder length and was all one color, very light brown, but it was definitely her. She noticed how he was looking at her. "Is there something wrong?"

Bray just continued to stare at her. Finally, he whispered her name. "Zandra?"

PART 4

"Zandra?" Bray continued to stare at her.

Grace looked at him. "What did you call me?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…. You look like someone…"

"Like someone you know." She finished for him. "Do I? Do you know me Bray?" He looked at her oddly when she asked. "Please if you know who I am tell me."

"Grace." Jason came to stand behind Bray. "Grace I need you to get the water ready." She still didn't move. "It'll keep till later."

"Jason……."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know what this means for you, but right now Amber and that baby are the priority."

Bray had gone back to sit with the now fully conscious Amber. Grace looked over at them. "Okay I'll wait but once that baby is born those two are gonna tell me who I really am."

*~*

The commandos from the city had arrived at their camp. It was nestled deep in the woods away from prying eyes and the occasional traveler. They had been there for almost a week and now that the mission was accomplished, it was time to go home.

Ebony had been tossed forcefully to ground and the on of the camp guards stood over her. "Well so this is the big bad Ebony we've heard so much about. She doesn't look like much to me." He started laughing and some of the others joined in.

They all stopped when Ebony gave him a vicious kick to the groan. She quickly got up and smashed him in the face with both her hands. Another came to help and a roundhouse kick to the head sent him crashing to the ground. Ebony put up a good fight but she was outnumbered and they eventually overcame her.

Two men were holding her while a third was slapping her when a voice boomed through the camp. "ENOUGH!" He came over and pulled Ebony away. "She's not to be harmed." He looked down at the man she had kicked. "You put her with the other one. Let her see what'll happen to her if she doesn't play nice." The man limped away with her.

At the far end of the camp was a tent with guards on all sides. Ebony was thrown in and she landed on her behind with a thud. She pulled the tape from her mouth. "Do you have any idea who I am?" She shouted. "You'll be sorry for this all of you!" She heard a sound behind her. "Who's there?" There was no reply and she became aware that it was coming from the far corner of the tent. She rushed over and grabbed an arm. "Got you!"

The person struggled. "No…. please…. no….." It was a girl and she was crying. "no…. don't hurt me…. please…."

Ebony finally got her to feet and into the light cast by the partly open tent. "You?" Ebony said in shock when got a look at the girl's face.

*~*

Lex was dreaming. He was walking through the deserted market stalls. He caught a glimpse of someone dressed in a green cloak running out the main entrance. He quickly followed the person outside but instead of reaching the street he was now standing on the roof of a downtown high-rise. 

He saw the person he chased standing near the edge. "Hello?" The person lowered her hood. "Tai-San?"

"Can you feel it?" She asked still looking out over the city.

"Feel what?"

"There's a storm coming." She turned from him and he followed. Lightning flashed and Lex caught the glimpse of others on the roof. "It's moving quickly." She pointed to the far side of the roof and Lex could barely make out the figures there. As the came closer he saw that one of them was Ebony, he couldn't see who the other was but they both were surrounded by shadow shapes. "These two have already been taken. Their fate is their own now. You cannot help them."

"Tai-San what….?" He didn't get to finish because she was on the move again.

"But these…" She pointed to three others standing together. It was Bray, Amber and someone in a dark hooded cloak. "What happens to them is up to you."

"Tai-San I don't understand."

"It's time to choose Lex. Only you can save the others from the darkness and only together can all of you save the rest of us." Tai-San had gone to stand with the others. "Who will you serve Lex?"

Lex moved past her and over to Bray. "Who will you serve?"

Then Amber. "Who will you serve?"

He reached the fourth person. He slowly raised his hands to her hood and she did nothing to stop him. He lowered it from her head and she smiled at him. "Who will you serve?"

Lex bolted awake in his bed. "Zandra!"

*~*

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"

"Come on Amber that's a girl gimme a big push." Amber slumped back down on the bed in near exhaustion. Bray was holding her hand and whispering to her. Her face grimaced as she was told to push again. "Good girl."

"Bray I can't do it anymore I'm so tired."

"Yes you can we're almost there."

Jason looked up from between her legs. "Bray's right I can see the head we're almost home." Bray helped her up and Amber pushed again with all the strength she had left. "Come on….. just a little more….. we're almost there…. almost….." The room was filled with the sound a wailing baby. Jason was grinning. "Congratulations momma it's a boy!"

Amber started crying. Jason cut the cord and handed him to Bray who was positively beaming with pride. He held him close to his chest for several seconds before handing him to Amber. Tears were rushing down her face. "Hi little guy. I was beginning to think you'd never get here." Suddenly her face went pale. "Bray something's wrong."

Bray took the baby from her. "What is it?" He asked Jason.

"Oh my god….." He looked at Amber. "Looks like you're having twins Mom."

PART 5

"Here Dad, have a drink." Bray looked up at a bottle whiskey hovering in front of his face. "I won't tell if you won't." Jason said as he sat down next to him on the cabin porch. "Besides I think you're not gonna have much time for drinking for the next 16 or so years."

Bray coughed as he took his first sip. "How…. (cough)….. how are they?"

Jason took the bottle. "Mother, son and daughter are all resting." He wiped his mouth. "Grace is in there with them."

"Look, about Grace…."

*~*

Inside the cabin Amber was sitting up in bed cradling two bundles of joy in her arms. Even total exhaustion couldn't diminish the smile on her face. Grace was sitting in the edge of the bed grinning from ear to ear. "They are so beautiful. May I?"

"Sure." Amber offered her the baby in her right arm and Grace gently took it. "Here you go sweetie go see your Auntie Zandra." She watched as her old friend rocked the sleeping infant in her arms. "I can't believe you're really here Zandra."

*~*

"See has no idea how she survived?"

Jason shook his head. "She was found wandering near Eagle Mountain in a daze by Nika and her tribe, the Wayfarers. She was confused, hungry and scared." Jason finished off the rest of the bottle. "Nika brought her to me a couple days later. I looked her over. She had nasty wound to the head and a severe concussion."

"The was an explosion at the satellite tracking station there." Bray explained. "That's where we thought she died."

"The position of the wound is probably what caused her….."

*~*

"…Full retro-grade amnesia is what Jason called it." Grace said as she placed Amber's daughter in the makeshift crib by the bed. "A pretty fancy way of saying I lost my memory."

"And you've been living here all this time?"

"Not all the time. I spend a couple months with Nika and her tribe during the summer." Grace finished putting the other baby next to his sister and sat on the bed next to Amber. 

*~*

"I treated her wounds and made her as comfortable as I could have in those early days."

"What about her memory? Was anything you could do to help her remember?"

"Without knowing who she was before not really. The only treatment for her kind of memory loss is to be surrounded by familiar things, places, and people she used to know. The familiarity of those things is what usually triggers complete recall."

"And without knowing who she was to begin with there was nowhere to start."

"The only thing I could do was to get her back to living again and hope that her memory would come back on it's own."

*~*

"Jason's done everything he could to help, but it's no good. Even my dreams are no help."

"Dreams?" Amber asked. "What kind of dreams?"

"People, places. Just flashes really, nothing I could hold onto." She reached out her and grabbed air.

Amber touched her arm. "We're here with you now and we're going to help you remember your life Zandra. You got people back at the mall who've missed you terribly." Just as she mentioned the mall, Grace got a strange look on her face. "Is something wrong?"

"The mall…." She began. "…there's a staircase in the center…." She got up and started walking around the room. "….and a fountain nearby…."

Amber smiled. "Yes." 

"There's a shop near with electronics and a kid with……. bright colored hair….. his name is….."

"Ja…." Amber started.

"Jack!" Grace finished. She screamed and instantly covered her mouth, remembering the babies asleep nearby. "Oh my god! I'm starting to remember."

*~*

The man in charge of the commandos ordered his men out of the tent as he sat at the table. Opening the laptop he entered a security code and waited for the connection to be established. 

"Report." A voice said as the screen came to life.

"We have the girl called Ebony. We'll be heading back to base in the morning."

"Excellent Lieutenant."

"Thank you sir."

"Is there something else?"

He swallowed. "This Ebony is going to be difficult sir it might be best if we had some insurance. There's still enough time to go back to the city before daybreak and get the one called Tai-San."

"No. She is not to be touched in any way. Our…. Friend….. has something special in mind for her. Just follow your orders Lieutenant. Bring Ebony and the other back to base and I don't think I need to remind you that time is of the essence."

In a tent at the far end of the camp, Ebony had grabbed the strange figure hiding in the shadows. "You? What are you doing here?"

The girl tried to get away. "No please don't hurt me." She cried.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"….don't hurt…."

Ebony grabbed both her wirsts. "I'm not going to hurt you!" The girl was struggling harder to get away. "Stop fighting me damn it! Stop it!" Finally Ebony had enough. She brought her had back and slapped the girl across the face. "Stop Danni!"

The moment she heard her name the girl stopped struggling. She looked at Ebony as if she only just recognized her. "Ebony?" Danni immediately passed out.

PART 6

The sun had barely begun its slow rise and already the city streets were bustling with activity. Word spread late the previous night that Ebony had gone missing and one of her bodyguards had been killed. The other was severely wounded and was currently being looked over by Tai-San at the mall, her being the closest thing to a doctor in the whole city, until he regained consciousness, while Pride investigated the scene.

Pride had returned to the mall and was briefing the others about what he'd found. The dead boy's name was Jesse and he was fairly new to the militia. He used to run with the Demon Dogs, but that was all anyone really knew about him. There were several contusions to his face like he had been in a fight before he died. The cause of death was obvious. His light gray shirt was stained dark red and it had a single hole in the center of his chest.

It was this feature that disturbed Pride the most, sure there were guns in the city, but they were rarely used, if ever. The Demon Dogs and the Jackals sometimes resorted to gunplay but that was only after they had exhausted every form of ass kicking known. Ebony had the militia begin collecting their weapons soon after the exile of Bray and Amber and Pride feared that maybe this was some kind of retaliation for it. That thought however was quickly quashed after a meeting with the Tribal leaders.

He'd heard from the Demon Dogs about how some of their tribe had gone missing. Over the next hour he'd heard the same from the Jackals, the Gulls, the Mozquitos, even the outcasts had some of their band vanish. In all there were about a dozen unexplained disappearances throughout the city. There were rumors that maybe the Chosen had returned and were up to they old tricks again.

Alice scoffed when she heard this and most agreed with her, including Pride. The Chosen were leaderless and in disarray and were not a threat to anyone anymore. No there was something else going on a new tribe moving in perhaps but Pride couldn't shake the feeling that this was something far worse.

*~*

"Hey Lex!" Ryan shouted as he saw his old friend heading toward the main entrance. "Wait up!" He finally caught up with him. "Where have you been? You missed the meeting. Did you hear that Ebony's missing?" He noticed that Lex was wearing his old leather jacket and carrying a small pack with him. "What's going on, where are you going?"

"I have to leave Ryan." He saw the look of distress on his face. "Don't worry." He put his hand on Ryan's shoulder. "I'm going to do something I should've done days ago."

"What's that?"

"I'm gonna go find Amber and Bray and I'm bringing them home."

"Find Amber and Bray? Lex they could be anywhere you don't even know where to start."

"I think I know where to start." Lex remembered his dream from the night before. He remembered seeing Lex and Amber standing with Tai-San and… and Zandra. He found that if he concentrated hard enough he could remember details he missed before. He could see scenery behind them shift from the city to woods. He saw a cabin not far from a road that he knew led to Eagle Mountain. "Look man don't ask me how I know I just do."

"I don't understand any of this. You walk in here last night barely conscious and now all of sudden you're off on a quest to find Amber and Bray."

"You don't have to understand it. This is something I just have to do."

"Why?"

"To save my soul." He saw the bewildered look on Ryan's face. "Don't ask." He took something from his pack. "I was hoping I would see you before I left. I want you to give this to Tai-San." He handed Ryan Jack's video camera.

"Lex…… "

He was cut off by Lex giving him a hug. "Wish me luck." He slung his pack over his shoulder. "Goodbye man."

A short while later Ryan was sitting alone in the café when Tai-San came up behind him. "Ryan have you seen Lex I've been looking all over for him."

"Tai-San…" He stammered like he always does when he's nervous. "Tai-San he's gone." He saw that this news upset her. "He…he wanted me to give you this." He handed her Jack's camera.

Back in the room she shares with Lex, Tai-San knelt on the floor. Placing the camera on the bed she pressed the play button, the small viewscreen came to life, and Lex's image appeared. "Hey baby…"

*~*

Salene was making up the bed when Ryan entered. He plopped himself in a chair. Noticing the look on his face she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "What's wrong Ryan?"

"It's Lex."

She sighed. "And just what has he done now?"

"He's gone Salene."

"What do you mean gone?"

"I mean he left. He said he was going to find Amber and Bray and I believe him, but…"

"But what?"

"I don't know." He clasped her hands tightly. "I just have the weird feeling that I'm never gonna see him again."

*~*

Tai-San stared at the image on the screen a tear running down her cheek. "…and I want you to know that I love you Tai-San." The image held out his hand, palm up and Tai-San touched her fingers to his. "Always and forever."

The screen went black and Tai-San began crying. She settled herself against the bed and brought her knees up to her chest. "lex…"

PART 7

"It was like the floodgates just opened right up." The others watched the giddy girl circle the room with grins on their faces. "All Amber did was mention the mall and suddenly…BOOM…these memories just started coming."

"I'm happy for you Grace." Jason said as he wrapped his arms around her and embraced her warmly. "Or perhaps I should get used to calling you Zandra."

She giggled and tugged playfully on his goatee. "You can call me anything you want. I would never have made it without your help."

"So how much have you remembered?" Bray asked as he gently stroked Amber's hair.

"It's hard to say. I mean it's all disjointed and kind of jumbled together, but it's becoming clearer every second."

"I'm so happy for you Zandra." Amber said as she rested her head on Bray's shoulder.

"Thanks Amber." She sat down next to them. "I can't wait till we get home."

"Home?" Jason inquired.

"The mall. When do we leave for the mall?"

*~*

Danni jerked awake when she felt someone touching her face. She instantly sat up on the bed and brought her knees up as some form of protection. When she realized it was Ebony she relaxed, slightly. "Ebony? You're really here? I thought I dreamed you."

She almost smiled. "I'm not a dream sugar." She sat on the bunk next to her. "How long have you been here?"

"I don't know. They took me while I was being escorted to the mines with the other Tribal leaders." She had brought her knees down and was sitting more comfortably. "We were only a few miles from the city when the soldiers attacked. I thought they were rescuing us but they killed everyone, everyone but me that is."

"What did they want from you?"

"They knew who my father was." Danni started to cry. "I didn't want to tell them… I tried to hold out… but they kept at me for days and days…I didn't want to tell…"

"Tell what?"

"The antidote…God forgive me… I told them about the antidote…"

*~*

"I don't want to disappoint you Gra…Zandra. But I'm afraid that Amber isn't going anywhere at least not for a few days."

"I'm fine Jason."

He looked at Amber sternly. "You just gave birth to twins less than twenty-four hours ago."

Bray kissed her forehead tenderly. "He's right. You're in no condition to go on a long journey back to the city. You and the babies need to build your strength back up."

"I'm sorry Zandra."

Zandra took Amber's hand. "It's okay. I've waited this long, a few more days won't kill me."

Bray looked back over at Jason who was stoking the fire. "Since we're not leaving soon maybe its time for you."

"Time for me to what?" Jason asked after stoking the fire into a blaze.

"Time for you to tell us the story of how you survived the virus."

Jason sat in his chair by the fireplace. He drained the glass of whiskey in his hand. "My story?"

*~*

Nestled deep inside the Complex is an area that no one is allowed to enter. It is the private quarters of General Thomas Styles, former head of the government's most secret installation and now if all things go as planned the future ruler of the world.

The only thing stopping him is what he in a way helped to create: the virus called PANDORAX. Sealed off in the Complex he and his loyal officers were safe from the virus and it's effects but now they at last have a chance to go above once more and take their place as rulers.

All they need is the formula for a simple yellow liquid and they at last know how to get it. Nothing can stop them, well almost nothing. His "friends" are worried about the Mall Rats, their leaders in particular. So worried are they about them they had Styles send two teams out. The first to fetch one of the keepers of the antidote, one who may be sympathetic to their cause. The other was sent after the others to bring them here if possible, or to eliminate them if necessary.

Styles sits alone in the dark listening to faint whispers. **Soon.** A dark shadow moved across the wall. **Soon.** It settled on the wall behind him. **The future is ours. The Light will not prevail.**

"The Light will not prevail." Styles repeated back.

The shadow behind him took a semi-human form. **The thousand years has ended. The battle begins again and we will be victorious.**

"Victorious." He repeated.

The shadow shape engulfed Styles and it spoke with both their voices. "The world will be made strong again." Styles stood and crossed his arms above his head. "Power and Chaos!"

PART 8

Night has fallen and despite wanting to go on farther, Lex knew it would be foolish go on there were still too many dangers out there in the darkness and his mission was far too important to risk it. So having found an abandoned shack off the main road and building up a warming fire he settled in for what he new would be a long night.

Unknown to him was the fact that he was being observed through the broken window. A figure dressed in a long trenchcoat deep red in color watched him from the safety of the tree line. Once it saw him settle in. it moved closer to the shack.

*~*

Ebony stood in the center of the tent in shock at what Danni just told her. "You did what?"

She was crying. "I told them about the antidote."

Ebony became livid. "How could you tell them? Do you have any idea what you've done?"

Danni became frightened at ebony's anger. "I didn't want to…" Ebony grabbed her. "…please don't…"

"Don't what, hurt you?" She finished for her. "I could kill you. That's why they grabbed me. You told them I knew the formula for the antidote."

"I didn't want to…" Danni sobbed again.

Ebony didn't believe a world of it and looked like she was about to strike her when a voice came from behind her. "Don't be too cross with her Ebony." She immediately released Danni and turned to face the Lieutenant. "She held out for a long time, but we finally broke that stubborn streak, didn't we Danni?" He reached out to touch her and Ebony noticed that she started shaking violently with fear. "It's not like she had a choice in the matter." He smiled. "And neither do you."

Ebony instinctively stepped between them. "I won't tell you damn thing."

He laughed at her. "Of course you will. There's a choice to be made Ebony and the choice you make will determine whether or not you'll have to be…persuaded." He turned to leave. "I suggest you ladies get some rest we'll be moving out in the morning." Just before leaving the tent he turned back to them. "And if you still don't believe me… just ask Danni how persuasive we can be."

*~*

Lex was dreaming. "Oh man, not again." He said to himself as he walked through the deserted marketplace. He rounded a corner and saw Tai-San sitting by the fountain. She was crying. "Tai-San?" She didn't answer him and he reached out to touch her. "Tai-San?"

"She can't hear you." Lex turned and saw one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She was petite, barely five feet and looked about eighteen or nineteen with long curly red hair. She was dressed in black leather pants that looked like they were painted on and a barely there midriff shirt, topped off with a long red trenchcoat. 

"What's going on? Why is she crying?"

The woman came and stood next to Lex. "She is crying for what could've been…what might've been."

"I don't understand."

"Neither does she, but she will soon." The girl looked at him and smiled. "Not all can see the hand of destiny at work. By coming after the others you've fulfilled your destiny and became one of us." 

"Us?"

"A soldier of the Light." The main entrance to the mall swung open and a tremendous storm was raging outside. "A great storm is coming. And in that storm is a darkness…" Lex could see shadow shapes moving around outside. "…a darkness that will engulf the world if it is not stopped."

Lex merely stared at the swirling dark mass outside. "How can anyone fight that?"

"By having faith. That is why the Darkness is so afraid of your friends. They can bring hope and hope is something it is very afraid of." The shadow shapes outside the mall suddenly stopped as if they finally became aware that they were being observed. "It's time to go…agents of the darkness are on the move you must reach your friends before it is too late."

"How do I find them?"

They stopped in front of a store. "She will help you." She said pointing to the reflection of herself.

Just then, Lex bolted awake. He tried to sit up but he couldn't. There was a boot-covered foot on his chest. He looked up and saw a young woman of about eighteen or nineteen with long curly red hair and wearing a red trenchcoat standing over him.

"You know…" She smiled playfully at him. "…I always thought my mother was just in denial when she said that someday I'd meet the man of dreams." She laughed and offered her hand to Lex.

"Who are you?" He asked as he got up.

"Who are you?" She asked in return.

"I'm Lex."

"Nice to meet you Lex…My name is Nika."

PART 9

Bray looked back over at Jason who was stoking the fire. "Since we're not leaving soon maybe its time for you."

"Time for me to what?" Jason asked after stoking the fire into a blaze.

"Time for you to tell us the story of how you survived the virus."

Jason sat in his chair by the fireplace. He drained the glass of whiskey in his hand. "My story?" He stared at the empty glass in his hand as his mind floated back nearly two and a half years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

Colonel Howard!" Doctor Jason Young ran along the corridor trying to get the attention of the officer standing before the lift. "Kay!" She finally heard him just as the doors began to close. She pressed a button and they slid back open. "Thanks."

"LEVEL PLEASE…" A computerized voice asked and Howard asked for Level 3. "…THANK YOU."

The lift began its rise from Level 19. "Out of breath?" She asked looking at Jason who was leaning against the wall with one arm breathing hard.

"Don't start." The doors to the lift slid open after it reached Level 3. Jason followed Howard out. "When exactly we're you going to get around to telling me the news." He followed her to an office. The name on the door said General Robert Riddenauer. "Or didn't you think it was something that the research division needed to know?"

Kay Howard was busy clearing up the General's desk, placing his personal belongings into a box. She was an attractive woman in her mid-thirties with short-cropped brown hair. "Look…" She slammed his fists down. "…I only found out a few hours ago myself."

"What the hell happened Kay?"

"I don't know. General Riddenauer left for his Committee briefing yesterday and I was informed this morning that he has been reassigned and will not be returning and that our new commanding officer will arrive tomorrow morning at 0700."

"Riddenauer has been with this project since the beginning. Hell, he built this place why would they reassign him, especially now." Howard just shrugged her shoulders. "Well who do they have coming in?"

Colonel Howard had finished clearing up the General's desk. "I should be getting his file later today."

"Who?"

"Brigadier General Thomas Styles."

*~*

A short while later Jason was back in his quarters. He was pacing around the room with a whiskey in one hand and the telephone in the other. "No, I don't wish to leave a message. Just tell General Riddenauer that I called… again." He hung up the phone just as someone knocked on his door. "Come."

The door opened and Kay Howard walked in. She noticed the half-empty bottle sitting on the table. "No luck I take it."

He held his hands behind his head. "I've been trying to reach him all day. Nobody has seen Bob since the Committee briefing. I don't understand any of this. Bob has been with this place from the very beginning, the Complex was his baby. Why and the hell would they reassign him? And why would they replace him with a one star general?" He picked up the bottle. "You want a drink?"

"Sure." She took of her jacket and sat on the couch. "Better make it a double. I got Styles file." He handed her a glass and she gave him the personnel file. "I did some checking and found out that Styles wasn't assigned to replace Bob, he personally requested this posting… one week ago… before Bob left for the briefing."

Jason stared at her for a moment then sat down next to her and began reading. In about five minutes, he finished the entire thing. "This is it?" Kay nodded. "This only goes as far as Desert Storm." He gave it back. "What's he been doing for the last twelve years?"

She didn't answer. She took a drink then muttered under her breath. "…classified…"

"What?" Jason's eyes widened. "Classified?" He stood up. "Oh dear God, don't tell me they actually put this place under the control of one of their Black Ops spooks."

*~*

The next morning Jason woke to find a message that the new CO has arrived and wanted to meet him. He quickly showered and got dressed. As he walked toward the lift he noticed a great deal of activity going on. Support personnel and junior officers were milling about, some carrying boxes and others bags. He didn't have time to ask anyone what was going on. He bumped into an officer.

"Doctor Young?" The officer was tall; he had jet-black hair and a thin face. "I'm to escort you to the General's office."

A few minutes later he was standing in the office formally occupied by his friend and now taken over by a stranger. He'd been standing there silently for nearly five minutes, the General not giving him any notice as he continued to look through papers on his desk. It was an old trick, put a subordinate in his place by sending for him then ignoring him while you do something trivial, letting him know exactly where he rates on the food chain.

Finally he finished his work and stood up. "Doctor Young, I've been looking forward to this meeting for quite sometime." He offered him his hand. As they shook hands Young felt a sudden chill go down his spine.

PART 10

The Mall.

"Alice have you seen Tai-San?" Trudy asked as she came into the café. "I haven't been able to find her all day." 

She took a seat next to Alice. "I haven't seen her since they brought that militia man in last night. Something wrong?" She asked.

"Not really. It's just she was going to start teaching me how to make some of her herbal remedies today."

Alice thought about what she said. "That's a good idea. You okay Trudy? You look tired."

Although her eye makeup covered most upon close inspection one could see the bag under her eyes. "I am. Brady's been so fussy lately. I think she knows Bray is gone." Alice and Trudy had just started to have a nice chat when Jack and Ellie came in in a hurry. "Hey where's the fire you two?" Trudy asked.

"We've got to find Lex." Ellie said.

"Why? What's going on?" Alice asked her sister.

"It's getting bad out there." Jack answered. "There are fights breaking out all over the place." Alice noticed that he never let go of Ellie's hand.

"Word has spread fast about Ebony's disappearance."

"The other Tribes are taking advantage of it to settle some scores." Jack added. "And the militia is just standing around with their thumbs up their asses."

"That's why we need Lex. He's the Sheriff, he has the authority to order the militia to put a stop to it."

Just then Trudy noticed Ryan walking by. She waved him over. "Ryan do you know where Lex is at? We've got a situation on the street."

"Lex is gone." Was all he told them before walking away.

"Where did he go?" Alice asked. "Ryan? What was that?"

Trudy just shook her head. "Perhaps he's gone looking for Ebony." She turned back to Ellie and Jack. "You two go and see if you can find Pride and tell him what's going on and tell him to meet me and Alice here. Now go!" She shooed them away.

"When did she take over?" Jack asked as the two of them walked away together.

*~*

Jason continued to stare at the empty glass in his hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

"What does Styles think he's doing?" Jason stood in the doorway of Kay Howard's office. "The man has only been here a week and he's already turned this place upside down." He sat in the chair in front of her desk. "Do you know what he's doing? He's shutting down the other levels and transferring the research teams off base. By the end of the week 19 will be the only operational level."

"He's just doing what every new CO does, he's making his mark."

"There's making your mark and then there's making a mess. There were four projects at crucial stages and Styles had them all shut down. Months of work and research, not to mention a helluva lot money, have all just been flushed down the toilet." He noticed that Kay had hardly looked up from her desk. "Am I boring you?"

She finally looked up rather annoyed. "Jason I have a lot of work to do, the General wants these progress reports by 0930 tomorrow."

He got up. "You look tired. You busy later?" She shook her head no. "Come by my quarters and we'll have dinner and talk."

She finally smiled. "I'd like that."

He leaned forward and kissed her on the top of the head. "I'll see you tonight. I'm going up top to get some fresh air and clear my head." He left Kay to finish her work and headed for the lift.

"LEVEL PLEASE…" The computerized voice after the doors slid open.

"Ground level."

"…THANK YOU."

Jason stood in the corner of the lift thinking during the short ride to the surface. The doors slid open and he exited. He was surprised to find that he wasn't on the surface but the level below. A guard he had never seen before got up from the desk.

"Can I help you sir?"

"I was trying to get to the surface…" He scratched his head. "There must be a malfunction."

"There's no malfunction sir."

"What?"

"I said there's no malfunction. The lift has been programmed to stop at this level. All journeys to the surface must now be cleared by the General personally." 

Jason said nothing as he walked back to the lift. He had a pit growing in his stomach and what he would find over the next hour wouldn't do anything to make it go away.

*~*

"I am not imagining things Kay."

Kay rose from the sofa as Jason paced around waving his arms. "I never said you were imagining things Jason. I said maybe you're misinterpreting things."

"What's to misinterpret?" He started to count off on his fingers. "We've been cut off from the outside, we can't go to the surface or get outside phone line without a personal okay from Styles. He's shut every other project except 19 down and transferred the other teams. And I found out today that he's replaced every one of Riddenauer's people with his own, every one, right down to the chief mechanic in the motor pool." 

"It's not uncommon for a new commanding officer to want people he's familiar with to serve under him."

"I know that, but check around and you'll find that apart from you and me everyone else that Bob brought with him is gone."

He sat down and clasped his hands in front of him. Kay sat next to him. "What's got you so worried about this? You're ex-military Jason, you know how it goes so why does this have you so freaked?"

"It's this whole project… it's PANDORAX Kay… and it scares the hell out of me."

PART 11

__

Jason leaned back on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. "You don't know this thing like I do Kay, you don't know what it's capable of doing. If there ever was a doomsday bug this is it."

"That's why Bob brought you in to head the development of the anti-viral, to stop it from ever becoming the doomsday bug as you call it."

"Easier said than done."

"Still having problems?" She put her hand on his chest.

"Every time we think we have a promising vaccine this bastard mutates and we have to start all over again." He took her hand. "We're getting close, we've got a pretty good map. But with way this thing mutates there's no way to accurately predict what the effects will be if… god help us… it ever jumps outside."

"That can't happen, you helped design the containment systems down there. This isn't the first bio-project you've worked on, you know there are inherit risks in every kind of research we do here."

"I'm not naïve Kay, I know the risks but this is something different, this is…"

"What?"

"This is the first time that I think we've might've gone too far." He got up, walked over to the bookcase, and picked up a photograph of himself with another man. "PANDORAX started out with such great promise. It was going to be the savior of mankind, a serum that could slow the aging process and give the human race double, maybe even triple the lifespan. But it didn't quite work out that way, did it?" He showed the picture to her. "I wonder what he would say if he knew what we were doing with his baby."

"No one could have foreseen the creation of this strain." She took the photograph from him. "And he would understand what you're doing here." She put it back where it belongs. "Paul may be an idealist but he's not naïve either, he knows you can't unlearn. The virus was created and now a counter-agent must be created to deal with it."

"Does it? Do we really need an anti-viral? We have the only samples of the virus in existence, who says we need an antidote? Who says we even need PANDORAX at all? Who says I can't go and lock down Level 19 and… and flashburn the whole damn thing."

"You say." Kay touched his face. "Because you know that won't solve anything. Paul is still working on the original project and he's not alone. Sooner or later someone along the same lines will create PANDORAX and like or not, sooner or later somebody like Iraq or China will get hold of it and use it."

He tried to laugh. "Trying to make me feel better?"

She did. "I'm trying to put things into perspective for you."

He slid his arms around her waist. "I hear what you're saying, but it doesn't make this feeling go away. Ever since this project started I've been feeling that we should stop now before it's too late and Styles arrival has only intensified that feeling. Riddenauer was a scientist, he was the one who locked down the virus and killed all knowledge of it and he better than anyone knew the real consequences of what we're doing here."

"And you don't think Styles does?"

"No I don't think he does. I think to him this is just one more biological weapon and with PANDORAX that kind of thinking is dangerous."

"What's dangerous is you going on like this." Kay wrapped her arms around his neck. "You've been working nonstop for months on this project and you're tired." She kissed him. "And I think you need a break." She kissed him again.

"I thought you didn't want it to get personal between us again."

She smiled seductively at him. "I lied."

As Jason maneuvered her towards the sofa, Kay was unbuttoning her shirt. As they started to make love both were unaware that they were being observed. A small pin camera in the corner of the room was transmitting their liason.

General Styles was sitting in his office watching the lovers on his computer monitor. His aid Colonel Calder was standing next to him. After several minutes Styles switched the monitor off. "It would seem that Doctor Young is going to be a problem after all."

"It does seem that way Sir."

"Make your way to Level 19. I want a full progress report and an estimate on when the anti-viral will be finished. I want Doctor Young dealt with as soon as possible."

*~*

The sleeping form next to him snuggled closer to Jason as he shifted in his sleep. He started to stir, there was a noise coming from somewhere disturbing him. He woke and discovered the sound was coming from his computer. He got out of bed trying not to disturb Kay who was still sleeping soundly. He sat at his desk and typed in his password. Someone was trying to reach him through the vid-phone.

"Bob?" He said as the image of his old friend came up. "Bob where are you? I've been trying to reach you for a week."

The connection wasn't stable and his image and sound were distorted. "…fall apart Jason."

"I can't hear you very well."

"It's coming true… it's all coming true. What… feared most. I've seen the truth Jason."

"What truth Bob? I don't understand."

"The storm is coming Jason… used us. Do you hear me? We've been used." Static filled the screen and for a few seconds it went black. "…I've seen the truth. What they're going to do… sent you what I found… got to stop them… storm is coming Jason… the storm…"

The screen went black for good this time. "Bob! Bob!"

By now Kay was awake and was standing by the desk wearing only Jason's shirt. "What's going on?" 

He quickly told her about the strange one-sided conversation he just had. "I hate to say it but it sounds like he's been drinking."

"No you didn't see him, he wasn't drunk, he was scared." He was busy at the computer. "He said he sent me something." He got into his email account. "Got it." He opened the message. As he read Kay saw him turn pale.

"Jason? What is it?" He didn't answer her. He just grabbed a shirt and rushed from his quarters. "Jason!"

PART 12

__

"Call it off!"

Brigadier General Thomas Styles head of the Complex looked up as the door to his office burst open. He casually put down his pen and regarded the young man standing before him with annoyance. "Is there something you want Doctor Young?"

Young slammed his fist down on the General's desk. "Did you really think we wouldn't find out?"

"The decision was need to know Doctor." Styles sat back in his chair. "And frankly you and your staff didn't need to know."

"We won't allow this. A live test was never part of the program."

"It is now." Styles got up to face the young doctor. "The government has spent a great deal of time and millions of dollars in research and they want to see what they paid for."

"You can't do this." He stood nose to nose with the general. "I'll go to the Committee to stop this if I have to."

Styles was unconcerned about the implied threat. "The Committee has already made it's decision Doctor. They have given the test their full endorsement. Deployment on Karien Island base will begin as soon as your work the anti-viral is completed."

"Styles listen to me. We can't do this." Young was almost pleading. "We don't know what will happen if the virus is removed from a controlled environment. Even Karien Island may not be far enough away if something were to go wrong."

"That is precisely why we're waiting for the results of your work Jason."

"And if I refuse to continue work on the anti-viral?"

The general looked at him coldly. "That is not even an option." He pressed a button and a guard came in. "Sergeant escort Doctor Young back to Level 19. He has a lot of work to do and the clock is ticking."

*~*

Jason was at his computer, he quickly composed several emails and sent them out. After that he went into the mainframe and effectively ended his career with a few keystrokes. No sooner had he finished then the door to his office was kicked in and General Styles came in followed closely behind by Colonel Calder. Styles pulled his service weapon and pointed it at Young.

"Move away from the computer." He ordered.

He got up from his chair and his place was taken immediately by Calder. "You won't find what you're looking for."

Colonel Calder made a quick directory search. "I'm sorry sir. The Level 19 hard drives have been completely erased, there's nothing left. Several emails were sent out before hand but there's no way to trace them."

"Where did you send the antidote data?" When Jason didn't answer Styles pointed his gun at his head. "Where?"

"Kill me and you'll never get the anti-viral. I want to talk to the Committee."

The man glared at him in a rage. He lowered his weapon and then in a quick flash slammed the butt of the gun against Jason's head knocking him unconscious.

*~*

Jason had no idea where he was. He was walking through what looked like a deserted mall. He could see children moving around on the upper level, they were dressed oddly and had strange markings or makeup on their faces. He felt someone come up behind him and he turned around quickly.

"Hello Jason."

"Bob?" The man held out his hand and Jason took it. He was short, in his mid-fifties and bald. He was dressed in an army uniform. "What are you…? Where are we?"

"This is what is to come." He stood before the staircase and raised his arms. "This is the result of our work Jason. This is the legacy of PANDORAX." The children had stopped moving and were now looking down on the two men. "When it is over, the world will be theirs."

"Styles can't do anything Bob. I erased the files and sent the data out to people I can trust. There's no way he can track it and he can't conduct the test without the antidote."

"He can and he has." Bob touched his shoulder and they began walking together. "A storm is coming Jason… a darkness. And that darkness is whispering to Styles and it wants him to let loose this plague upon world. Nothing can stop that now."

"There's got to be something we can do. We can make the antidote work. We can…"

"We can do nothing. All we can do now is see to it that the future is safe for them." 

The children were suddenly all around them. They parted and a young woman of about 17 or 18 walked toward Jason. She had short cropped hair with, red, purple and blue highlights and dark eye makeup. She came up to him slowly and tenderly touched his cheek. She opened her mouth to speak, but another voice came from around them. It was faint and seemed to come from a distance.

"…trudy…"

*~*

"Trudy?" Trudy awakened with a start when Alice touched her shoulder. "I'm sorry to wake you, but Pride and Ryan are back." Alice noticed that Trudy hadn't fully acknowledged her presence. "Trudy are you okay?"

She got up and sat on the edge of her bed. "I'm fine Alice."

"You sure? You look…"

"Really, I'm fine." Trudy smiled at her then looked at herself in the full-length mirror that sat near her bed. "I just had a very strange dream."

PART 13

They were gathered at the café, Trudy, Alice, Jack, Ellie, Salene. Cloe and KC arrived a little late and Ellie and Salene giggled at them, it wasn't until after the meeting that Ellie told KC he had his shirt on inside out.

They were all listening to Pride and Ryan report on the state of things through the city. Jack and Ellie were right about how bad things have gotten. There were fights between Tribes breaking out all over, the Jackals against the Demon Dogs, the Gulls against Tribe Circus and so on. The only common denominator Pride could find was an accusation by each side that the other was raiding their sector and they were only acting in self-defense.

"You think someone could be setting the other Tribes against each other again, like what the Chosen did before?" Cloe asked.

"It's possible Cloe." Pride answered. "In fact I'm willing to bet on it."

"Well we know it's not the Chosen." Alice added. "And frankly the other Tribe leaders don't have the brains to think far enough head to make something like this work. If she weren't missing I'd say it was Ebony up to her old tricks again."

Pride thought for a moment. "Or maybe it's someone almost as smart as Ebony."

"Moz." Alice said and Pride nodded. "Makes sense. She's devious enough." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Trudy spoke next. "Whatever is going on out there we need to think of ourselves right now. With Amber and Bray gone, and Lex leaving to go after them, the Mall Rats are leaderless. We need to appoint someone to negotiate with the other Tribes and oversee the trading market until the others return." The others thought about what she said. 

"I nominate Trudy." Cloe said.

"Me?"

"I second it." Alice added. "You seem to be doing a pretty good job so far." She rose. "All in favor of making Trudy our new leader raise your hands." Everyone raised his or her hands in agreement. "I guess that makes it official."

Trudy was speechless. "I don't know what to say."

"You could start by telling us what we're going to do now that the city's a war zone again." Jack told her.

Trudy sat down to think for a moment. "Ryan… security around the mall and the market place…"

She didn't get to finish. "If it's all right with you… I'd like to work with Pride. He's gonna need someone to watch his back." No one saw the surprised look on Salene's face.

"I'd like to have KC too." Pride told her. "He can be our ears on the street. He can go places we can't and people aren't afraid to talk in front of him."

"Hey don't I have any say in this?"

Ryan grabbed KC by the shoulder, more playfully than menacing. "No."

Trudy almost laughed. "Okay if that's what you want… Alice would you mind taking over mall security?"

"No problem boss."

"With what's going on it's only a matter of time before it spills onto our doorstep. Take Jack with you and start with rigging a new alarm on the sewer entrance. After that, Jack I want you to fix the gates on the main entrance."

"Oh joy." He said sarcastically.

Ellie swatted him. "Behave." She looked up when Trudy said her name. "Yes?"

"Ellie, I want you to go to the farm. If something does happen we may not be able to bring food in for a while."

"I'll see what's ready to be harvested."

"I'll help you Ellie."

"Thanks Cloe."

The meeting broke up after that. Trudy went off to find Tai-San who again didn't show up for a tribe meeting. Ryan went after a clearly upset Salene. The others went off to their rooms to get a few hours sleep. Only Alice remained in the café. She was watching Ellie and Jack kiss each other goodnight. Jack being Jack, was going to get started on the new alarm for the sewer entrance right away.

"You and Jack seem to have gotten close again." Alice said as Ellie sat down next to her.

"I love him Alice." Ellie said quickly.

"I never said you didn't. It's just that he's only been back a few weeks and Luke hasn't been gone…"

She got up. "I don't want to talk about Luke."

"Honey, I'm just worried about you. A month ago you were in love with Luke and now Jack…"

Ellie got defensive. "Jack loves me… and I love him. And Luke was a mistake I won't talk about, not even to you."

"Ellie!" Alice shouted after her as she stormed away.

*~*

"How long have you been set up here?" Lex asked as he was shown around the small encampment, several young women packing boxes smiled at him as they passed by. Others were sitting by the fire drinking and eating. A young boy of about thirteen was cooking on a grill, he handed Lex a small piece of meat.

"Not long." Nika answered. "We have a permanent place by the beach. This is just one of the places we stop at when we're on trading missions."

"What do you trade?"

"Food, batteries, clothes, medical supplies…"

"In other words whatever you can get your hands on."

She smiled at him. "Something like that." They stopped at a small picnic table by the fire. A girl with long braided blond hair handed them two cups of coffee. Lex sipped his coffee as he tried not to stare as the girl kissed Nika. "Perv."

"…(cough)… what?" He choked. She merely laughed at him. "You never said how you found me."

"Didn't I?" She took a long sip. The girl sat down behind Nika and started to brush her hair. "This may sound a little crazy, but I saw you and where you were… in a dream."

PART 14

"Time for you to tell us the story of how you survived the virus."

Jason sat in his chair by the fireplace. He drained the glass of whiskey in his hand. "My story?" He stared at the empty glass in his hand as his mind floated back nearly two and a half years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

A bullet ricocheted off the wall as he ran down the hallway. It had happened just as he feared it would. The test of PANDORAX got out of control. The virus mutated into an airborne in a matter of hours and it was less than a day before the first case was reported to the local hospital. That was two weeks ago and the numbers of cases were growing exponentially and now the first of those to be infected had started to die… of old age.

The Committee was screaming for an answer to what had happened and for the promised antidote. The General ignored them. Within hours of the test the Complex was placed in lock down mode, the base was now completely shut off from the rest of world, no one comes in and no one goes out. At least that was the theory.

Jason knew some things about the base that Styles couldn't know. As head of the viral research division, he knew that an accident could happen resulting in lock down, but he also knew that putting his fate in the hands of someone other than himself was a bad idea.

With Riddenauer's permission, Jason added a backdoor code to all the security systems. He even convinced his old friend to add an emergency escape tube. The knowledge of which was kept between them. It was at the far end of Level 20, a small cylindrical shaft sealed with a blast proof pressure door that leads directly to the surface.

Rounding the corner he ducked back just as a shot rang out. He pulled his weapon and fired back striking the officer in the chest. Sticking the gun in his belt he picked up the soldier's machine gun. Only another dozen or so yards to go.

He finally made it to the door, he had just finished punching in his code when he heard someone behind him, and he heard the sound of a gun cocking. "Drop the weapon and move away from the door Jason."

He let the machine-gun drop and he turned. "Are you gonna kill me Kay?"

"Only if you force me to."

"What happened to you Kay? Don't you have any idea what's going on out there?"

"I know exactly what's going on, we're making a new world." She still had her gun drawn but it was no longer pointed directly at him. "The time of light has passed, it's our turn now. You could have joined us Jason."

"Joined you? In what, in taking the human race to the brink of extinction? In sitting down here drinking tea while billions die from something I helped to create? I'd rather you just put a bullet in my head right now."

"I don't want to, but I will to stop you." She gestured with the gun. "Now move."

Jason walked a few feet in front before he spinned around quickly. He grabbed the hand with the gun and pointed it toward the ceiling just as it went off. He knocked it to the floor. He held her for a few seconds. A few seconds that Kay needed to recover her senses.

She kneed him in the groin and Jason lost his grip on her for a second. She turned to run down the hall but he grabbed her again and knocked her unconscious. She fell limp to the floor and he bent down and touched her face tenderly. He picked up his weapons and entered the shaft.

The pressure door hissed shut and sealed itself just as Styles and several of his men came around the corner. One of the soldiers started shooting, but the bullets ricocheted off the door with no effect. Styles ordered them to stop and he came up to the door and watched through the small window as Jason disappeared into the semi-darkness.

"Shall we go after him sir?" One of his men asked.

"No." He started to walk away. "Let him die out there with the rest of them."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jason sat in his chair by the fireplace. He drained the glass of whiskey in his hand. "My story? Nothing to tell really." He got up and poured himself another drink. "They died, I didn't."

"Oh come on. There's got to be some reason why you survived." Bray told him.

"Maybe I'm just lucky." He quickly finished his drink. He saw the look on their faces. "Okay, how about we just chalk it up to the law of averages."

"Come again?" Amber asked confused.

"History has taught us that no plague or virus is going to 100% lethal, there is always going to be some who possess some form of natural immunity."

"So some adults would have survived."

"Sure, not many, but some. Maybe one percent." He sat back down by the fire. "One percent of six billion. Those aren't great odds."

*~*

Nika had sent her companion away and now she and Lex were sitting in a small shack near the campsite. Her statement that a dream led her to him unnerved Lex for a few seconds till he remembered that he himself was following a dream.

"So your dream told you that you had have to find your friends because they're in some kind of danger?" Nika sat on the small bed.

"The impression I got was that we're all in danger."

"…the storm." Nika whispered.

"You okay?"

"Yeah it's just nice to know that I'm not crazy, or at least not the only who's crazy." He chuckled. "So according to your dream I'm supposed to help you find your friends right?" He nodded. "Okay where do we start?"

"I'm not really sure, but they can't have gotten too far with Amber being pregnant and all."

"Pregnant?" Nika raised her eyebrows. "The man she's with wouldn't be named Bray by any chance would he?"

"Have you seen them?" He asked excited.

"No. But I know who has and I know where they're at."

Lex picked up his coat. "What are we waiting for? Let's go."

She grabbed him by the shoulder. "Slow down cowboy. I got a feeling they won't be going anywhere for a while. According to my friend that girl was in labor when she found them. Grace grabbed most of my medical supplies and took off."

"Is Amber okay?"

"I don't know. But she's in good hands, the Doc won't let anything happen to her." She took his jacket from him. "Look it's gonna be sunrise in a few hours, why don't you get some rest and we'll head out at first light."

*~*

Back at the cabin, Bray and Amber are together in bed. Bray is spooned up behind her as they both gazed over at their children who were sleeping soundly for the moment. Bray put his arm around Amber's waist and she held it tightly.

"Just look at them Bray… aren't they beautiful?"

"Almost as beautiful as their mother." He answered as he began kissing her neck.

She turned her head slightly just in time to catch his lips with hers. "What's wrong?"

"How do you do that?" He kissed her again before sitting up. "It's Jason…"

"What about him?" Amber giggled as she propped herself up on one arm.

"I don't know, I just have this feeling that he's holding back, I think he knows how he survived, but it's something he doesn't want us to know about."

"Do you think he could be a danger to us?"

"No… that's just it… I trust him. But I can't shake this feeling that he's keeping something from us that does put us in danger."

As Bray and Amber continued to talk, there was movement outside the cabin. A half dozen figures dressed in fatigues approached the structure they spread out and took up positions on all sides. The one near the front door squatted down in the brush. Another soldier came up to his position.

"The men are in position sir."

The leader patted him on the shoulder. "Good. They're still awake in there. The General wants them taken alive if possible so we'll wait and let them sleep and hit them at first light." He dismissed his junior and settled in to wait.

PART 15

"How's your patient?" Trudy asked as she quietly entered Tai-San's old room.

Lying on the bed was the battered form of the wounded militiaman. His name was Dylan, he was about seventeen and had a rugged, handsome face that made him look slightly older than he really was. Trudy remembered him from the Locos and knew that he was extremely loyal to Ebony and wouldn't have let someone take her without a fight and judging from his appearance that's just what he did. 

His handsome face wasn't quite so handsome at the moment. The right side was badly bruised and his eye was swelled shut. There were deep purple bruises, the size of a man's fist all over his chest.

Tai-San was wiping his forehead with a damp cloth. "I think he's going to be okay. I believe he has some bruised ribs and he's going to be very sore for the next several days, but he should recover."

"Has he said anything yet about the people who attacked him?"

She shook her head no. "He's still sleeping." She picked up the small bowl of water and placed it on the table by the door. "Let's talk outside, I don't want to disturb him." They left the young man to sleep and headed for May's place. May had been sick for the last week with a nasty case of the flu and Tai-San wanted to give her a new herbal tea to help settle her stomach. After helping a still very queasy May drink her tea they headed back to the café.

"Have you been okay Tai-San?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You've been keeping to yourself since Lex went away and we're worried about you."

Tai-San touched Trudy's hand. "Thank you for your concern Trudy, but I'm fine."

"Okay, I'm here if you need somebody to talk to."

"Thanks." Tai-San got up from the table. "It's getting late."

"Is it?" Trudy looked at her watch. "Oh, I didn't realize how late it really was, Brady's gonna be up in a few hours."

Tai-San giggled. "Still up with the sun is she?"

"Up and ready to take on the world." Trudy finished her tea. The two young women then walked off toward their rooms' arm in arm.

*~*

Bray was walking through the mall. It was dark and deserted and looked slightly different, like it used to look when he first arrived there with Trudy. There was movement on the upper level and he heard the sound of raised voices. There was the sound of a scuffle and suddenly a body came flying over the side. The second it hit the ground Bray knew who it was.

"… zoot…"

He was about to rush over to him when a voice stopped him cold. "Man I bet that hurt. Oh wait, it did." Bray turned in shock and Zoot smiled at him. Although he was dressed in his police uniform, there was something different about him he seemed older. "Hey big brother, long time no see." Zoot walked past and knelt down over his own dead body. "I got three words for you… wash… rinse… repeat." He looked over to Bray. "You've really stepped in it this time Bray."

"What are you talking about Martin?"

"I'm talking about power and chaos. You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into? I told you before that you couldn't stop it, that it was gonna spread across the world."

"Let's not start all that power and chaos nonsense again Martin."

"It's not nonsense. It's a fight that's been going on for a thousand years and it's already done the battle's over, the light has fallen, the world is ours. So why are you continuing to fight it? Has your precious antidote changed anything or your girlfriend's bill of rights, or anything else you and your Mall Rats have done in the past two years? No. Chaos reigns as it was meant to… as it was destined to." He started to walk around his brother. "We're building a new world, a better world, a stronger world. In fighting us all you're going to do is get yourself and your friends killed and you won't have changed a thing." He put his hand on Bray's shoulder. "Let it go Bray. Don't sacrifice your woman or your children for a lost cause."

"Don't listen to him." Both men turned at the voice that came from behind him. He was dressed all in black. Bray couldn't see his face because of a hooded cloak. "That isn't your brother. He's a phantom… a shadow of what was." Bray eyed Zoot. "The darkness is using him to get to you. You and your friends still have the power to banish the darkness and that scares it. Everything he's told you is a lie. The battle is not over, if it were he wouldn't be trying so hard to convince otherwise, he wouldn't need to."

Zoot had backed away from Bray who watched as a dark shadow engulfed the form of his brother and vanish. The hooded figure had turned to leave but Bray called out for him to stop. "Hold it!" The figure stopped. "What the hell is going on?"

The figure stood with his back toward Bray. "The fight for the future… you and your friends have been drafted into the age old battle between light and dark." He started to walk away again.

"Wait!" Bray called to him. He stopped and turned around. Bray was about to walk up to him when a wall of flame suddenly appeared in front of him. "Who are you?" Bray shouted.

The flames seem to grow around him. "A ghost." The flames grew brighter until they and the hooded man vanished together. 

Bray bolted upright in bed, waking Amber. Before either could say a word a man dressed in fatigues burst into the room. Bray moved with incredible speed and tackled the man. He was punching him when another came into the room and pointed his weapon at him.

"BRAY!" Amber screamed as a shot rang out.

PART 16

A shot rang out and Amber screamed as Bray slumped to the floor clutching his shoulder. The soldier who shot him stood over him for a second before two strong hands pulled him back out of the room. Jason threw the man to the floor and Zandra hit him over the head with a baseball bat.

Two more men came in and one restrained Zandra, while the other grabbed Jason. "Nice to see you again Doctor Young." He punched him in the stomach and Jason fell to his knees gasping for breath. "Nice to see you." He picked him up and punched him again.

The soldier in Bray and Amber's room was back on his feet. He was pulling a naked and struggling Amber out. He tossed her next to Zandra. He went back for Bray brought him to the others. He was wincing in pain as the soldier dug his fingers into the wound.

No sooner had the others been subdued then there were the sounds of fighting coming from outside. The lieutenant sent a man outside to investigate. Several seconds afterward guns were going off. Taking advantage of the surprise Jason and Bray jump their captures. Jason knocks the lieutenant unconscious and helps Bray deal with the other. He and Bray rush outside to see what's happening only to be surprised by the sight of Lex and Nika standing over four unconscious soldiers.

*~*

Lex slipped his boots on and stretched before grabbing his jacket on the way to meet Nika. It was nearly sunrise and he wanted to get to Bray and Amber as soon as possible. He couldn't explain it but he just had a feeling that they should hurry.

It was chilly and stuck his hands into his pockets for warmth and he walked around the encampment looking for Nika. He walked through the field of small tents and caught sight of Nika standing at the edge of the camp, only she wasn't alone. She was speaking to someone dressed in a long black coat with a hood. Whoever it was must have seen him because he said something to Nika then disappeared into the woods.

Nika ignored Lex's questions about the stranger and finally Lex stopped asking. They head out for the cabin where his friends are staying. Nika says it's not far a few miles and it shouldn't take long for them to get there and it didn't. Less than an hour later they were within sight of their destination.

As they approach the sound of a gun going off startles them both. Rushing toward the building, Lex suddenly pulls Nika back into the brush just before she runs into the clearing. A slightly peeved Nika was about to lay into him when he points to the cabin.

Nika sees three men with automatic weapons standing guard outside, one on the front porch and two in the yard. Lex and Nika look and nod silently to each other before splitting, each knowing exactly what to do. Lex picks up a sturdy tree branch and moves up quietly behind one of the men in the yard. He watches Nika approach the other and almost together they strike.

Lex raises his weapon and smashes the man in the back. His weapon fires by accident as he falls to the ground unconscious. Nika attacks her prey with a roundhouse kick to the stomach. Gasping for breath he is quickly dispatched with several backhands to the face. The soldier on the porch raises his weapon to shoot but he is tackled by Lex.

They are rolling around on the ground when another soldier appears in the doorway. Nika pulls a knife from behind her back and throws it at him. The blade pierces the man in the shoulder causing him to scream out in pain. Moving quickly she jumps over the two men fighting and onto to the porch where a kick to the side of the head deals with him. She turns to help Lex but he doesn't need it, sitting on top of the soldier Lex grabs him by his shirt and punches him in the jaw. Nika offers her hand to Lex who's brushing the dirt off of him when two people rush out of the cabin.

*~*

"You've got a helluva lot of nerve!" Moz stood nose to nose with Pride. "How dare you come into my place and accuse me of… of… whatever it is you think I'm doing." She threw her hands in the air and Pride tried not to notice how it made her breasts rise and nearly spill from her very tight and very low cut leather vest. "I don't care if you are 'acting sheriff' you don't have the right."

"I have every right. My job is keeping the peace. Someone is stirring up the tribes again and let's be honest here Moz you're the only one around ambitious enough, not to mention smart enough to take advantage of the chaos that'll follow."

Moz was sitting in a chair at the end of the room looking very much like a queen on a throne. "Gee thanks." She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward. "There's just one thing… I'm not doing it." 

"Of course not." He said sarcastically.

"Go to hell Pride!" She spat. "You can't prove anything, if you could I'd be in a cage by now. So why don't you get the hell out of here…" Two of her biggest guards came up to Pride. "…before I have you thrown out."

Pride backed down. She was right, he couldn't prove anything, but he at least he let her know that he was on to her. "I'm going, but remember… I'm watching you." Pride turned and walked out not seeing the daggers that Moz was shooting him.

*~*

Lex and Bray shake hands the two young men actually pleased to see each other. Even Amber was happy to see him as the warm hug she gave him proved. Lex leaves to help Nika tie up the soldiers in the small wood shed near the cabin. Zandra comes outside with Jason's medical bag just as Lex disappears around the corner. Bray sits on the porch to allow Jason to look at his wound.

Bray winces for a second as Jaosn wipes the wound with alcohol. "It's not too bad… barely grazed you." He treated the wound and bandaged it up. "You're gonna need to clean it every couple days and it's gonna be sore as hell for a week or so." He handed his bag to Zandra who took it back inside.

Amber was sitting next to him. "I was so scared…" She touched his face. "…when that gun went off…" She started to cry.

Bray kissed her. "Shhhh… it's all right…"

Lex and Nika returned. "Well that takes care of that lot. What about the other one…" He never finished his sentence.

At that very moment Zandra came back outside. Zandra felt Lex's eyes bore into her. She stared at him to. Her mind was filled with images and thoughts and feelings. She felt dizzy, queasy, her eyes glazed and she passed out. 

PART 17

"She denied it of course." Pride said as he walked around the café.

"I bet she played the innocent act to the hilt." 

He touched Alice on the shoulder as he walked behind her. "She didn't exactly play innocent, she said I didn't have any proof… and I don't."

"At least she knows that we know what she's up to."

Pride shrugged. "For what it's worth."

"Maybe she'll reconsider now that she knows we've got our eyes on her."

*~*

"That arrogant son of a bitch!" Moz screamed at her lieutenants. "Walking in here like he owns the place and accusing me like that!" She threw a bottle at the wall and it shattered. "I should've had him beaten right then and there!"

"That wouldn't have solved anything."

She threw another bottle and it shattered above the young woman's head. "No but it would've made me feel better."

The girl named Becca brushed small fragments of glass off her shoulder. "And proved to Pride that you're responsible for the outbreaks of violence among the other tribes."

Moz straightened her leather vest and grabbed her jacket. "Something is going on out there. Somebody is setting me up and when I find out who… they're going to wish they were never born."

She stormed from the room leaving Becca alone. A dark shadow moved across her face and she smiled.

*~*

"Ryan!" Salene was almost running after him. "Ryan wait up." He finally stopped. "Where are you going? I thought we could have breakfast together."

"I can't Salene I have to go on patrol."

She didn't try to hide her disappointment. "So early? Ryan you just got in a few hours ago." She touched his arm. "Ryan what's wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong." He removed her hand from his arm. "Look Salene I can't talk now I have a lot of work to do." He turned and walked away leaving Salene standing alone.

Several minutes later she was at the doorway of Trudy's room. "Trudy do you have time to talk?"

She was dressing baby Brady. "Sure. Little miss here just had her breakfast and she'll be out in a little while." She placed her in the playcrib. "Hey what's wrong?" She asked seeing Salene's face.

Salene came and sat down on the bed. "It's Ryan. Ever since he got back he's been so distant… it's like… like he's pulling away from me and I don't know why."

Trudy sat next to her. "Ryan has always had trouble articulating his feelings. It took forever for him to tell you that he loved you."

"It's more than that. He's not the same as he was before… he won't talk to me… he leaves before I wake up and he gets back when I'm asleep… he's avoiding me. Did you know that the last time we made love was before he was sent away?" Trudy's eyes widened at the admission. "It's true. Every time I try to initiate something between us, he shuts down and pushes me away."

"Look none of us can know what it was like at the mines. Even Jack and Cloe don't like to speak about it." She put her arm around her old friend. "They were probably rougher on Ryan because he attacked the Guardian. Just give Ryan a little time to fully adjust to being back and I'm sure he'll be okay."

Salene tried to smile hoping that Trudy was right, but right now Ryan was far okay. He was on his knees in an alley not far from the mall. He had his hands over his ears as if trying to shut out some terrible noise. It was always the same sound: a woman screaming. He pressed his hands tighter to his ears but nothing he did could silence that horrible sound of the woman screaming his name.

*~*

A few miles down the road from Nika's camp there's an abandoned motel. In one of the rooms a young girl is sitting cross-legged on the floor in deep meditation. She's about fourteen, with long brown hair done up in pigtails.

"Where the hell have you been?" She said as she heard the room door open behind her. "You've been gone all night."

"I went to see Nika." The other said as he took off his trenchcoat. "Lex was there."

"Lex?" The girl got up off the floor. "Did he see you?"

"Only for a moment. I had my hood up I don't think he knew who I was."

"Maybe, maybe not. You can't be sure Phoenix."

"Either way it's done, there's nothing we can do about it now."

The one called Phoenix laid down on the bed and crossed his hands on his chest while the girl returned to her meditation. "So what was so important that you had to rush off to see Nika in the middle of the night?" 

He closed his eyes. "I had another vision and she needed to know about it."

"What was it?"

"A glimpse of what's to come." He breathing became slow and regular. "With the knowledge she can warn the others or allow events to unfold as they were destined to, either way it's out of our hands now."

"So what do we do?"

"We wait. Our time will be here soon enough."

PART 18

"Get up you two!" The burly guard shouted at the two sleeping women. "I said get up!" He rushed to one of the cots and pulled back the blankets revealing only a pillow beneath, put there to resemble a body. "What the hell?" He heard a sound behind him and he turned just in time to see to clasped hands coming toward his face. 

Ebony struck him three times to make certain that he was unconscious. Grabbing his weapon she and Danni slipped out of the tent and into the pre-dawn darkness. They didn't get very far, within minutes the camp was aware of their escape. They gave the soldiers a good chase but they were eventually recaptured.

To their surprise they weren't punished for their attempted escape. They were tossed back into their tent and left alone for nearly ten minutes. While Ebony and Danni sat together on one of the cots they wondered what was in store for them now.

They didn't have long to wait the flap to the tent opened slightly and a small cylinder was tossed inside. As soon as it hit the ground a gas began seeping from it, within seconds the entire tent was filled with gas and Ebony and Danni slipped into unconsciousness.

*~*

He was having a nightmare. The men came from nowhere and attacked. He felt their fists hit him in the chest and face. As he fell to his knees he watched as they subdued Ebony. He tried to get up to help her but he was in too much pain. He reached out to the limp form of his leader and passed out.

Dylan awoke in a strange bed. He didn't know where he was or how he got here, the last thing he could remember clearly was passing out in the street. Fighting the pain in his ribs he slowly got out of bed. Grabbing the wall for support he moved cautiously outside and started to look around. He heard the sound of someone coming and he quickly (well as quickly as his injuries allowed) moved back into his room.

"Will you stop!" Cloe said trying to sound angry as KC came up behind her and grabbed her waist. "I have to go with Ellie to the farm and I'm already late."

He kissed the back of her neck. "Since you're already late…owwww…" Cloe had playfully elbowed him in the stomach.

"I said not now." She turned and gave him a quick kiss. "You keep it up and it won't be later either." 

She gave him another quick kiss and turned and headed for the café. KC looked down at the floor and sighed before following her. Dylan moved out from his room again and followed them.

*~*

"How are you feeling?" Lex looked up at Bray as he came outside. He'd been pacing around outside the cabin for the better part of an hour since he saw Zandra unsure of what to do next. "You're gonna have to see her."

"Yeah I know, I just don't what I'm going say to her."

Bray put his hand on his shoulder. "Start with hello and go from there."

Lex actually laughed. "Brill man. You think of that all by yourself or did Amber help?" They walked inside together. Jason was busy tying up Lieutenant Strake, while Amber was watching over the still passed out Zandra. He reached out to touch her but pulled back. "Where has she been for the last two years, why didn't she let any of us know that she was alive?"

Amber told him about how Zandra was injured in the explosion at Eagle Mountain and lost her memory. About how she's spent the last couple of years living with Jason and Nika and her tribe. "Her memory has only just now started to come back since we've been here."

"Does she remember everything?"

"I don't think so." Just then Zandra began to stir. Amber sat down and touched her hair. "Hey… how you feeling?"

"…what happened?" Zandra asked groggily. 

"You passed out."

Zandra sat up slowly. "I remember… I came outside and there was some…" She noticed someone standing behind Bray and got up. "It was you…" She cam toward him slowly and Bray stepped aside. She walked up to Lex who said nothing to her. "…it's really you…you're really here…" She touched his face and his chest. "…you really do exist…" 

She became weak for a moment and it looked like she was about to pass out again, but Lex caught her. "Here sit…" He gently sat her down in a chair. "Are you okay?"

She was crying. "…I'm fine… I can't believe you're really here… I thought I'd never see you again…"

"Do you know who I am?"

"Of course I do…" Zandra put a hand to his cheek. "You're my husband."

PART 19

Dylan had followed Cloe and KC down to the café. He stood in the shadows as the other Mall Rats ate their breakfast or said their helloes before setting out on their daily chores. KC didn't get a chance to say goodbye to Cloe as Pride and Ryan walked by and grabbed him as they headed out to patrol the city.

Cloe was at a loss for something to do. Ellie had left for the farm before sunrise and May had gone with her. May was feeling better now that she was over the bad case of the flu she had had and wanted to go outside and get some fresh air.

Trudy, Tai-San and Alice were walking up the stairs when Cloe spotted them. They were talking. "Jack said he should have the kinks worked out of the controls for the main gate in a day or so." She heard Alice say.

"Do you really expect trouble?" Tai-San asked.

"With Ebony gone and the tribes fighting again it's only a matter of time."

"Not to mention we don't know who took Ebony or why." Trudy added. "Just look around you… all you have to do is go outside and you can feel it…" Dylan was watching, he tried to focus on the three young women talking, but his vision was fuzzy. "…something is going to happen and we have to be ready for it."

Cloe was about to say something when a sound from behind startled her. She whirled around to see a muscular young man with dark skin walking toward her. He had his arms stretched out before him and was lumbering toward her. Cloe let out a scream that could've woke the dead. Trudy, Tai-San and Alice looked up just in time to see Dylan fall at Cloe's feet.

*~*

Zandra was grinning as she looked over at Lex who has standing over the still unconscious Lieutenant Strake. Her grin was infectious as Amber found herself smiling as she breastfed one of her babies. "How could I ever have forgotten for him. I mean I've loved Lex for… like forever."

"He never mentioned he was married when we spent the night together." Nika said bluntly as she joined them. "But then he also thought you were a corpse too."

Zandra's expression changed and for a split second Amber could've sworn she saw the old catty Zandra appear. "You spent the night with Lex? My husband?"

Nika started laughing. "Come on… nothing happened." It didn't look like Zandra believed her. "Hello…" She waved her hand. "…Remember?… Gay." 

All three then burst out laughing. The men looked over at them and the women couldn't help but laugh again. Zandra asked Amber how news of her supposed death at Eagle Mountain affected Lex. Amber told her she wasn't there to see it but from what Bray has told her Lex took her death very hard.

Knowing Lex like they do rather than break down Lex turned self-destructive. He began drinking and neglecting his duties and responsibilities, he got involved in some scams with KC, he was even thrown out of the mall for a short time. Lex appeared to be on a long downward spiral and looked as if he would hit bottom until he and…

She stopped there. Zandra asked her to continue but Amber refused. She told her that she should speak to Lex about the rest. Zan suddenly realized what she meant… Lex had met someone else.

*~*

"Are you ready?" Phoenix asked. "Nervous?"

His young companion smiled. "A little. What am I going to say them?"

"You'll think of something." He handed her her backpack. "Just don't forget what you're there to do."

She slung her pack over her shoulder. "I won't. Do you think she'll listen?"

"I don't know. I was only with them a short while before she left, I didn't get to know her as well as Nika or the others did so I don't know how she'll react." They walked outside. "But I do know that she thought the others should have been helping them prepare not merely standing on the sidelines waiting for signs, that's why she went to the city."

"So there's a chance she may not help us."

"A chance, but I think that once you make it clear that we're not part of the Order, she'll listen to what you have to say." He put his hands on the young girl's shoulders for a moment, then pulled her to him and held her tight.

They stayed that way for several minutes. "When will I see you?"

"They can't see me or know about me yet, but I won't be far behind you." He gently kissed her forehead. She placed the hood of her dark green coat over her head and started off for the city.

*~*

"Well good morning my dear." 

The voice in Ebony's head seemed to echo as she slowly shook off the effects of the tranquilizer gas. She put her head between her knees and coughed and gagged trying to get the horrid taste out of her mouth. "Where am I?"

"Someplace safe." The voice said.

"And where is that?" She asked as a glass of water appeared in front of her face. The voice didn't answer her. "Where's Danni?"

"Danni is… is being looked after while you and I talk."

The water she drank made her throat feel somewhat better. "Just what do we have to talk about?"

"The future…mine… yours…" Several monitors came to life on the wall to Ebony's right. "…and of course hers." The image of Danni appeared. She was naked and strapped to a table.

"Who the hell are you?" Ebony demanded.

A light on the desk went on. "My name is Brigadier General Thomas Styles…" He leaned into the light and Ebony saw his eyes. They were familiar very familiar, she saw that same look of controlled malevolence in Zoot's eyes. "… and I think you and I are going to be very good friends."

PART 20

"You certainly have a funny way of treating your friends General." Ebony smiled sweetly at him. "Kidnapping them… drugging them…" She glanced at the monitor showing the image of Danni. "…I'd hate to see what you do to your enemies."

The General sat in his chair and merely smiled at her. "That is something you needn't be worried about." Styles got up and walked over to her. He turned off the monitor showing Danni. "As I said before you and I are going to be very good friends." He put his arm around her. "And friends… help friends."

Ebony shook his arm off of her. "And just what do you need my help with… friend."

He laughed. "I'm sure you know… I'm sure our little Danni told you exactly what we're after. We need the antidote…" He face suddenly changed, becoming almost stonelike. "…and you are going to give it us."

*~*

Back at the cabin Jason and the others were gathered around the soldier they had taken prisoner. He was slowly coming to. "Rise and shine!" Jason said as he slapped the man into full consciousness. Bray reached to stop Jason but a cold glare from the older man stopped him. "Are we awake yet? I see that we are."

The lieutenant looked up at his captors' faces. "Enjoy your victory while you can…"

"Come now Strake, let's not have any of that."

"You're in no position to make any kind of threat." Lex added.

Strake just laughed at him. "He doesn't get it does he?" He looked at Jason then back to Lex. "This is only the beginning little boy. The General wants you and he'll have you… one way or the other." He turned his attention back to Jason, ignoring the others. "He'll send squad after squad out for you, there's nowhere you can hide."

Jason paid no mind to his threats. "There are a few things I need to know Strake."

"Go to hell."

"That's really not the attitude you want to take with me." Jason grabbed another chair and set it in front of the man. "Now I suspect you were briefed pretty well before you left. And I'm sure the General told you a lot of very interesting things… about me." He sat down in the chair and leaned into Strake's face. "About what I've done, what I capable of doing…" He was now nose to nose with him. "…and how long I can make it last." 

A sudden wave of fear swept through Lieutenant Strake. Jason had informed him of Young's past and he knew exactly what he was prepared to do to get answers. "It won't do you any good."

"Humor me. Why did Styles send you after me? He knows I won't give it to him."

Strake started laughing. "He doesn't need you anymore, you're just a bonus…" He glanced at the others. "It's them he wants."

"Us?" Amber finally spoke. "What does he want with us?"

"The antidote." Bray answered. "He wants the antidote."

Strake laughed again. "Wrong again. We already have someone who's going to help us."

They were all wondering whom when Lex remembered his dreams. The image of Ebony on the roof surrounded by shadow shapes became clear in his mind. "Ebony…" He said. "…they have Ebony." Lex told them about how Ebony had disappeared the night before he left city.

"Despite everything you've done to prevent it we have your precious antidote Doctor Young and with it we're gonna rule the world. We're gonna rise from that tomb and rule the world that PANDORAX created." Strake glared at Jason. "And the General wants you to live long enough to see your two creations fulfill destiny." Jason grabs the man by the collar. "There's nothing you can do to stop it." He released him and left the room. "Power and chaos shall reign!" Strake shouted after him.

Jason was outside pacing around. The others stood on the porch as Bray approached. "What was all that about? What did he mean about your creations?" He didn't answer and turned his back on Bray. "Listen to me…" Bray spun him around. "…you've been keeping something from us and it has to do with what he said in there. The time for secrets has passed, I want the truth from you Jason. The whole truth, all of it."

*~*

"Is he going to be all right?" Cloe asked as she stood in the doorway of Tai-San's old room. She was relieved when Tai-San nodded yes.

Tai-San, Alice and Trudy had just put the unconscious Dylan back into his bed. No sooner did his head hit the pillow than he was awake again. He tried once more to get out bed put Alice pushed him back down.

"Easy there handsome you're not going anywhere just yet." She told him.

"ebony…" He said weakly. "…I have to get Ebony…can't let them take her…"

"Do you remember what happened Dylan?" Trudy asked as Tai-San wiped his forehead with a damp cloth. "Do you know who took Ebony?" He was still weak and said something they couldn't understand so Trudy asked again. "Who did it Dylan?"

"…black… dressed in black… never saw their faces…" His voice faltered and Tai-San gave him a drink of water. "…but there was something… about them… they couldn't hide it."

"What was it?"

His eyes opened wide and he looked at Trudy. "…they were adults."

PART 21

For the better part of an hour Bray, Amber, Lex and Nika had listened to Jason. They stood in muted silence as he told them what they wanted to know. All of it. When he finished they simply stared at him. "There you heard the truth. Happy now?"

"Happy?" Lex glared at him coldly. "You son of a bitch!" Lex lunged at him and grabbed Jason by throat. Bray and Nika attempted to pull him off but Lex held on slowly strangling Jason. Bray finally managed to break them apart by punching Lex in the stomach. Lex fell to one knee gasping for breath. "…what the… hell did you do that for?"

"What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"I was giving that bastard what he deserves." Lex brought himself up. "You heard him, he's responsible for this… the virus… everything."

Amber was looking after Jason. "No he's not Lex, he tried to stop it."

"He didn't try very hard did he? Everyone still died and it's all because he destroyed the formula for the antidote."

"I thought by erasing the antidote files from the Complex database it would force a postponement of the test." Amber helped Jason up. "I didn't believe for even an instant that Styles would order the test without the antidote being ready. Once it jumped outside there was no way to catch up with it, even if we had a working antidote in the lab, there was no guarantee that it would've work, the mutation factor was just too unpredictable. "

"If you erased the files how did they develop the antidote we found?" Bray asked.

"Before I erased the hard drives I sent my research to some friends: an old teacher of mine at Cambridge; a virologist I met at a conference in Tokyo; a couple colleagues at USAMRID and the CDC in Atlanta; and an old friend who was head of research on Hope Island." Amber, Bray and Lex looked at each other at the mention of Hope Island. "They managed to crack the code and create a working anti-viral, but not in time to save themselves."

A scream from inside the cabin startled them all. It could only have been Zandra. The others rushed inside to see what was wrong. They found Zandra standing in front of Strake. His head was down and his body was clearly limp. Jason approached and tilted his head back. His eyes were wide open and staring blankly. Strake was dead.

*~*

Styles stood motionless for several minutes after he led Ebony to a large bare room. In the center of the room was a metal table set an angle. Strapped to the table was the nude form of Danni. Ebony jumped slightly when Styles finally nodded to a man in a lab coat and a light from above illuminated the table.

Ebony tried not to stare at Danni, but she couldn't help it. Ebony ran her eyes over Danni's body several times before stopping herself. "As you can see Danni is quite well." Styles said startling Ebony. "But how long she remains so is entirely dependent upon you."

"What do you mean?"

"I brought you here in the hopes that we could arrange some form of alliance between us. You believed in power and chaos once before, but you turned your back on it for your own personal gain. Despite that I'm quite certain that I could convince you to help us but I'm afraid that circumstances have changed." He came to stand next to her and removed the glove from his left hand. "You see we need the antidote and we need it now."

"You're infected." Ebony said as she saw the telltale effects on his hand. "You all have the virus."

"Not all. But enough to jeopardize our plans and more coming down with it every week. We've had no fatalities yet but it's only a matter of time."

"What makes you think I'm going to help you now that I know that all I have to do is sit and wait for you to croak on your own."

Styles smiled. "However hard you might want the world to think you are, I'm willing to bet that even you can't stand by and watched someone being tortured, even an enemy."

He raised his hand and the technician touched a switch on the small control console in front of him. A hum filled the room and Danni screamed in pain. Ebony said nothing. Styles raised his hand again and Danni screamed again. Ebony still said nothing.

"The pain will increase each time." He whispered to her. "By the tenth or eleventh shock brain damage will occur. By the fourteenth...certain death." He raised his hand again and Danni screamed louder.

Danni pleaded at Ebony with tear filled eyes. Ebony closed hers and took a deep breath. She turned to face the General. "You won't kill her."

"Won't I?"

"No you won't because you need her. Without Danni you have nothing to hold over my head."

"You think so?" Styles signaled and Danni screamed again, louder and longer this time. "You see Ebony I have nothing to lose. If she dies, so be it. I'll simply put you there next." Ebony watched as Danni's face contorted in pain. "And I promise you... I'll make you suffer... I could prolong your death for weeks, months."

"…all right…" She whispered. "…stop… I'll tell you."

Styles smiled and the screaming ceased. "Now tell me the formula." A guard handed the General a pad and pencil and he took down everything Ebony said. He handed the pad to a guard standing nearby. "Get this to Level 19 immediately and have them round up these ingredients." The guard saluted and hurried away. "I knew you could be reasonable and I'm sure Danni appreciates your sympathy for her plight…" He looked over Ebony's shoulder. "…don't you my dear?"

A guard was helping Danni down from the table and into a robe. She walked slowly over to Ebony. "thank you ebony." She whispered to her. Then she shocked her by kissing her on the lips. The guard standing next to Danni then grabbed Ebony by the arm. Danni smiled at him. "Lock her up."

PART 22

Everyone was talking at the same time. Thanks to Cloe word that adults kidnapped Ebony spread quickly among the Mall Rats and now they all wondered what it meant. Would others come? Would they be friendly or hostile like the ones who took Ebony and killed Jesse?

Finally Trudy had enough of everyone talking over each other and put a stop to it by slamming her fist down. "Thank you." She said when everyone quieted down. "Now I know this news came as a shock to everyone, but let's not lose touch here. Dylan was very badly injured and we don't know what really he saw or who for that matter. Until he is better and up and around we shouldn't take anything he says now as fact."

"Trudy's right." Jack said. "I mean think about it what are the odds that any of them could've survived?"

"You've changed your tune." Cloe said to him. "Aren't you the one who used to stay up all night trying to contact them on the radio?"

"Nobody wants to believe that some adults survived the virus more than me, but even I had to accept the fact that they all died."

"As far as we know." Alice chimed in. "There was a lot of confusion during those last weeks, the truth is we don't know either way."

While the argument/debate about whether adults could've survived continued, a shape watched them from around the corner by the kitchen. It listened for several more minutes until it concluded that nothing more could be learned then turned and left.

*~*

Lex was holding Zandra, her face buried in his chest. "What happened to him?"

Jason opened Strake's mouth and Amber caught a whiff of a strange odor. "What's that smell? It's like…"

"Burnt almonds." Jason finished and she nodded. He put his fingers in Strake's mouth and pulled out a broken glass capsule. "Cyanide." He glanced up at Nika. "The others." She rushed out of the cabin to check on the other men they had locked up. She returned a few seconds later and told them that they were all dead.

"They killed themselves, why for God's sake?" Amber asked trying to understand.

"Because they failed." With Bray's help Jason laid the body out on the floor. As Bray went to find something to cover it with, Lex took Zandra outside for some air, while Jason examined the body a little closer. "I don't think it would've mattered much even if they had succeeded in getting us."

Amber came closer when she heard him. "What?" She saw he was holding Strake's left hand. "What is it?" 

Bray returned with a sheet and they respectfully covered the body. "He's infected and I'd be willing to bet that the others were as well."

She glanced at the body. "He had the virus?"

He nodded. "It was still in the early stage but I'd guess he only had a few weeks, maybe a month left. I'm also willing to bet that the rest of them at the Complex aren't in much better shape."

"Until Ebony gives them the formula for the antidote." Amber said. 

"She won't." Bray said causing Jason to look at him oddly. "I know Ebony pretty well and she won't give the formula to them." 

"You're assuming she's going to have a choice."

Everyone became silent and no one spoke for nearly a minute. Finally Amber broke the silence. "Then it's clear what we have to do." They looked at her. "We have to go and rescue Ebony."

*~*

There has always been something sinister about Sector 9. No one could exactly put a finger on what it was about that whole region that bothered them, but you could feel it as soon as you entered. The entire atmosphere seemed dark and foreboding, one's very demeanor changed as if some great cloud had come over them. 

It was because of this that even after three years Sector 9 was for the most part deserted. It was known that a few of the tribes banished some of their more violent or unstable members to Sector 9, but no one really knows for certain because they were never seen or heard from again, which was partly the point one could say.

There were many rumors floating around the city about Sector 9, but the truth was something far more terrifying and dangerous than anyone could've imagined and they were going to learn the truth very soon.

On the outskirts of the sector stood a large warehouse. Inside a gathering was taking place, about 20 or members from various tribes were standing in a circle in the center of the building. In the middle of the circle stood Becca. She had abandoned her Mozquito gear and was now dressed in tight black leather pants with a matching black midriff shirt. Her face was covered in white makeup making her seem pale, her lips were deep black in color as were her eyes, all together it gave her face the look of death.

"Tonight is a night to remember my friends. We've waited and watched as the Mall Rats beat the virus, we've waited and watched through the rule of those fools the Chosen." She turned in place looking into the faces of all of her followers. "I'm here to tell you the time of waiting is over, tonight our long patience will be rewarded." Applause and cheers erupted from around her. "The storm is almost here…" Becca looked over an saw the person from the mall enter and take a place in the circle. "…now we must prepare."

"The others will be coming soon and we must be ready to meet them. We need not turn the Tribes against each other any longer even if they do join forces they cannot stand against us." More cheers and applause. "The time for hiding has passed my friends." She walked around the circle pulled the respective tribe gear off the others. "Abandoned your tribes, abandoned your past." She took her place in the center of the circle. "You are no longer Jackals, or Demon Dogs, or Mozquitos, or Gulls, or Mall Rats…" She crossed her arms above her head. "You are the Bringers of Chaos…"

The others crossed their arms too and shouted. "Power and chaos!"

They continued chanting as Becca moved to talk with the person from the mall. The person told her what was happening, that Dylan had woken up and now they know that adults took Ebony. Becca dismissed the other's concern.

"It doesn't matter now if they know. They have the antidote now and will be here soon." She put her arm around her. "We must be ready. The Mall Rats could still prove to be a problem, she cannot be allowed to rally them. Go back to the mall… watch and listen. And when the time is right…" She handed her a small dagger. "…you know what to do."

PART 23

"Feeling better?" Lex asked as he and Zandra walked together outside.

She smiled at him. "I'm fine Lex. I just needed some air. Seeing that man in there like that…" Her voice trailed off and she walked a few steps ahead of him. "We haven't had much time to talk have we?"

Lex was playing with a twig he had picked up from the ground. "Things have been kinda crazy. What else is new?" They both laughed. "I'm really glad you're alive Zan." He wrapped his arms around her. "I've missed you…we all have."

"You don't have to say that."

"It's true." He got very quiet for a moment. "When I thought you had died… I didn't know what to do…"

She put her fingers to his lips. "You don't have to tell me. Amber said you took what happened very hard and that you started drinking…" It was her turn to get quiet. "She also implied that you met someone who helped you get through it."

He got very uncomfortable. "Zan I'm sorry… we… we never meant… it just happened."

"Lex you don't have to be sorry for anything, you thought I was dead. I didn't think you'd spent the last two years sitting alone mourning me, you had to move on. I can accept that." She tried to put on a happy façade but deep down Zandra was hurt. "So what's she like, this girl who took my place?"

"She's very different. I think it's safe to say that our getting together surprised just about everyone, including us. If anyone had told me that Tai-San and I would get together, let alone get married…" He noticed the strange look on her face. "Zan?"

Her face had turned white. "Tai-San? You married Tai-San?" Grabbing the side of her head she turned away from him all the while saying Tai-San's name over and over again. She stumbled as she walked and Lex grabbed her. She pushed him away and ran back to the cabin.

*~*

"You wished to see me General?" 

Styles looked up as Danni entered his office. He motioned for her sit and his eyes lingered over her as he noticed how the tight fitting black uniform she was wearing hugged her body even tighter as she sat down. He turned his attention back to one of the monitor's on the wall to their right.

"Look at her." Danni glanced over and saw Ebony on the screen and although there was no sound she could tell she was screaming. "She's been raging like that for over an hour." He smiled. "Such wonderful anger. Such a terrible waste." He switched off the monitor. "I brought you here to commend you on a job well done, you played your part to perfection."

She continued to stare straight ahead while he walked around her. "Thank you sir."

He put his hand on her shoulder. "But I must tell you that some of my juniors find your conversion to our cause suspect. No don't say anything… I told them that you were a bright and intelligent young woman who could see the way of things." He was touching her hair. "And your performance with Ebony has proved that my faith in you was not unwarranted."

"Thank you sir."

"There was another reason I wanted to speak with you…" He returned to his chair. "I have some information concerning your former lover Bray." He noticed how the mention of his name made her uncomfortable.

"Wha… what about him?"

"I've received word that the retrieval squad has found him and they should be bringing him and his friends in in a few days."

"Retrieval squad? Bringing him here?" She looked visibly worried. "I don't understand."

"Although I have the utmost confidence in your abilities my dear I would be a very poor soldier if didn't have an alternative plan prepared. I sent a retrieval unit to fetch Bray in case Ebony was unwilling to part with the formula for the antidote."

"But Ebony has given you the formula. Surely you don't need Bray now."

"Oh it's not just the formula I need from him. Bray and the others could prove an impediment to our cause and they need to be dealt with."

"You don't mean kill him?"

"Do not distress yourself my dear. I have no intention of killing Bray or any of his friends. They simply need to be kept out of the way to facilitate the ease of our takeover and let's be honest your Bray has an annoying ability to rally the dispossessed. He and the other could turn a simple operation into a protracted conflict that would cost many lives."

"Perhaps…" She spoke quickly. "Perhaps once he's arrived I could talk to him… convince him not to stand against us."

He eyed her curiously. "Would he listen to you? He strikes me as a young man who would oppose us and our cause at every turn."

"Bray is an idealist, but he's also a pragmatist. He'll stand with us if it means saving lives."

He thought for a moment. "I'll consider it. You may go now Danni." She quickly exited his office. Styles turned the monitor again and watched as Ebony continued her tantrum. "You heard?"

**I hear all.** The voice seem to come from nowhere. **He will not stand with us. He has been touched by the Light.** The voice floated around the room until it coalesced into a humanoid shape. **The way is being prepared. They will deal with the last of the chosen ones, but you must join them soon or our advantage will be lost.**

"We have the formula for the antidote and the ingredients are being gathered now."

**Good.** The shadow form began walking. It stopped at the monitor showing Ebony. **When the others arrive you must deal with them… all of them.**

*~*

It was dark and at first she didn't know where she was. As her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness she realized she was back in the mall. She moved silently through the empty market stalls and called out for someone, but no one answered.

She stopped at the fountain and sat down. She heard a noise behind her. "Who's there?" Listening hard she realized it was coming from the upper level. As she started up the stairs a shape appeared at the top. "Who are you?"

The shape stopped for a moment then started down the stairs and then stopped again a few feet from her. "Hello Amber."

Her mouth dropped and she stared at the young man in disbelief. "Dal?"

PART 24

Back at the mall the meeting had finally broken up. About the only thing they managed to agree upon was that what Dylan had said was remain among the Mall Rats. Everyone had drifted off back to their rooms. Alice was busy securing the main entrance for the night when she heard a sound coming from the café. "Ellie? Hey where have you been? You missed the meeting."

"I went for a walk." Ellie said as she sat down.

"A walk? By yourself? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is, especially with what's going on."

"Don't start Alice I'm not in the mood for one of your lectures now."

She tried to get up but Alice made her sit back down. "Tough. What's going on with you? You've been acting funny for weeks, the others may not notice, but they're not your sister." Alice pulled up a chair and sat next to her. "What's going on sweetheart?"

Ellie put her hands in her lap and bit her lip. She was about to speak when Jack came in. "Hey beautiful." He said as he kissed her. "I've been looking for you."

"Here I am." She put her arms around him and turned to leave the café when Alice stopped them.

"We're not finished yet."

"Alice please not now."

Against her better judgment Alice held her tongue and let them walk out. Before leaving though she gave Ellie a look that let her know that they were going to finish this conversation.

*~*

She moved silently through the city staying hidden in the shadows just as Phoenix taught her. It took her a while to remember how to get to the mall but she eventually found the way again. As she turned down a familiar sidestreet she heard the sounds of running.

Ducking quickly behind a dumpster, she saw the lone figure of a girl run past followed closely behind by several others dressed in black. Her instincts told her that something was very wrong, so she moved from her hiding place and cautiously followed them.

"There she goes!" One of them shouted. "Get her!" They ran after the small figure as it turned down an alleyway. Too late did she realize that it was a dead end. 

They had been chasing her for nearly a half-hour and she was tired and out of breath. Moz turned to face her pursuers. Two large young men came forward and grabbed her arms. "Whoever you are you're gonna be sorry for this." She shouted as she struggled to get free.

"I don't think you're in any kind of position to make threats Moz."

Moz instantly knew who it was. The others parted and allowed Becca to approached. Moz was shocked by her appearance but tried to hide it. "You… you won't get away with this. The Mozquitos won't follow you."

Becca laughed at her. "The Mozquitos are nothing, you are nothing. In fact, you're less than nothing." She grabbed Moz by the hair and pulled it hard causing her to squeal. "You don't know how close you came to being one of us, but when they looked into your mind they found your weakness." She pulled Moz's hair harder. "A weakness I don't have."

The girl in the green cloak stood silently at the end of the alleyway watching the scene unfold.

Releasing her Becca gestured and Moz was forced to her knees. "You're crazy!" Moz shouted.

She smiled. "Crazy?" She shook her head. "I've merely been shown the truth. A new age is dawning and we, the Bringers of Chaos, are here to prepare the way." She reached out and touched Moz's cheek with her index finger, the sharpened nail drawing blood. "You are only the first." She looked at one of the men holding Moz. "Make sure you leave her where she can be found."

*~*

"I can't believe you're here." Amber said through tears as she sat with Dal. "I've missed you so much since…" She took her head off his shoulder. "…since you… died." She stared at him. "I'm dreaming aren't I? You're not really here are you?"

"Yes and no." He smiled and held out his hand to her. "Walk with me." She got up and they started to walk through the deserted the mall. They stopped at the main entrance and outside a tremendous storm was raging. "Look at it Amber. Can you see?"

"See what Dal?"

"Look close."

Amber stared at the raging storm, she squinted her eyes each time the lightning flashed and during the last burst she caught a glimpse of…of things moving about in the storm. "What are they?"

"That is the enemy."

"The enemy?"

"It's starting again Amber, the battle."

"The battle for what? I don't understand what's going on Dal. How can you be here? Is this a dream or isn't it?"

"There isn't time to explain everything to you Amber and I'm sorry for that. All I can tell you now is that you have to go back to the city as soon as you can."

"The city? I can't go anywhere, my children…"

"I know, but you must, before it's too late."

"Too late for what?"

"Too late to stop that." He pointed to the entrance. The shadows that Amber saw had changed into humanoid shapes dressed in black with ghostly white makeup on their faces. "The others need you, only you can help them rally the city against the darkness and there isn't much time."

He turned her away from the entrance, but she shook herself loose from him and stood. "Enough. I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is going on."

Dal sighed and looked at the upper level nervously. "I don't understand all of it myself or what my part in it is but I'll try." 

*~*

The figure moved silently through the mall. All the other Mall Rats had at last retired to their rooms and now she was free to act.

Pride shifted in his sleep. He brought his arm over and he felt empty space next to him. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked around the deserted room. "May?"

She approached the room quietly, listening for signs of someone coming. She peered through a crack in the door and found her still awake. It was going to make things difficult but it must be done now, she might not get another chance.

"Here we go." Jack said as he entered his room with two plates. "A late night snack for the most beautiful girl in…" He stopped because he was alone. Setting the plates down he looked for her. "Ellie?"

She stood by the doorway waiting for just the right moment. She held the dagger given to her by Becca in her left and slowly entered the room. The other had her back to her and thus couldn't see the danger approaching. She grabbed the other around the throat with her arm. The other let out a muffled cry as she felt the dagger pierce her lower back. It had all happened so fast the other wasn't able to put up much of a fight beyond some weak struggling. She whimpered slightly as the dagger stabbed her twice more. She released her and the other slumped to the floor in a pool of blood.

PART 25

The door to their room creaked open and she quickly slipped inside. After removing her leather pants she slipped beneath the covers trying not to wake her sleeping lover. "Where'd you go?" The voice almost gave her a heart attack. She turned to face Pride. "I woke up and you were gone."

"I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk." She snuggled close to him. "I didn't mean to worry you."

Pride put his arms around her. "You didn't. I just wondered whe…" May interrupted by placing her lips against his and soon they were kissing passionately.

*~*

She opened her eyes weakly. She didn't know how long she had laid face down on the cold floor. She tried to push herself up but she didn't have the strength so she lay there.

"…help me…" She said in a whisper. "…somebody… please… help…"

*~*

"Ellie!" Jack let the heavy roof door slam shut when he saw her sitting on an air vent wrapped in a blanket looking up at the stars. "What are you doing out here?"

Her eyes never left the sky. "I couldn't sleep. I needed some air."

"Air?" Jack had his hands in his pockets to keep them warm. "It's freezing up here."

Ellie giggled and opened the blanket. "Let me see if I can warm you up." Jack sat next to her and she rested her head on his shoulder.

*~*

The girl in the green cloak placed her backpack on the ground. Looking around for something she could use as a weapon, she spotted an old broom. She unscrewed the handle and moved herself in position.

Moz was on her hands and knees gasping for breath when she was forced back onto her side by a vicious kick to her stomach. "Pick her up." The largest of the three young men said. The others obeyed and picked Moz up by her arms. "Hold her tight." He clenched his fist and hit her in the jaw. He slapped her. "We can't have you passing out on us yet." He slapped her again. "You'd miss all the action." He ripped off her shirt exposing her breasts.

"What are you doing?" One of the others asked. 

"Having a little fun." He was undoing her pants when Moz kicked him hard. He stumbled back holding his groin and scowling in anger. "Hold her down!" He shouted at his companions. They forced her to the ground and the big man got on top of her.

Moz was kicking and screaming when a shape moved behind them. The man on top of her screamed out in pain as something struck him from behind. He turned just in time to catch the other end of the broom handle in the face. He fell face first to the ground as blood poured from his broken jaw. The others were in shock and Moz managed to free herself from one of them and threw herself onto the other.

The girl hit the one who lost Moz with her makeshift staff in the stomach then swung it around and hit him between the shoulders knocking him unconscious. She turned to see Moz sitting on top of the last punching him the face. He managed to kick her off of him and he tried to run away. The girl spun around and hit him in the legs causing him to fall. Moz ran up and hit him in the head with a trash can lid. She continued to hit him until he stopped moving.

She dropped the lid and turned to face the young girl who rescued her. She stared at the tiny girl for several seconds before her eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out. The girl grabbed her before she fell. Half-walking, half-dragging Moz along with her the girl started out again for the mall.

*~*

It was late and she was running out of time. In a couple of hours the morning shift would be up and she would lose probably her only chance to get them both away. Moving as quietly as she could Danni made her way toward the isolation cells. As she suspected there was only one guard on duty and he was half-asleep.

He was nodding off and never saw Danni approach. All he caught out of the corner of his eye was a vague shape moving toward him. Before he could react two clenched fists came at his face and he was rendered unconscious. Taking the key card from his pocket she opened the door to the cell holding Ebony.

"Ebony?" She whispered. Ebony was asleep on the small cot and Danni moved to wake her. "Ebony are you aw…" A fist emerged from beneath the covers and hit Danni in the stomach.

She fell back on her behind gasping for air. Ebony threw the covers off herself and jumped on Danni seething in anger. She slapped her a couple of times before pulling her to her feet by her hair. Shoving her back against the wall she held her in place with her forearm on the taller girl's neck. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you?"

"Because you need me."

Ebony pressed her forearm tighter on Danni's throat. "And why is that?"

"Because without me you'll never get out of here and without me you can't save Bray."

*~*

It was barely daylight but already the mall was coming back to life. Alice had just finished unlocking the main entrance in preparation for the days trading, not that there would be much of that going on she thought to herself. People were still freaked out by Ebony's disappearance and as a result people were avoiding gathering together in large numbers in case some tribe wanted to take advantage of the situation.

"What are you all doing?" Alice asked as she entered the café. Cloe, Tally and Andy were sitting around the table, the two younger Mall Rats with empty plates in front of them.

"It's Tai-San's turn to cook breakfast and she isn't up yet." Tally answered. "I tried knocking but I didn't get any answer."

Alice stood there, hands on her hips. "Did it ever occur to you to get your own breakfast?" She sighed. Pointing at Tally and Andy. "You two get breakfast started." They sat there. "Move!" They got up and scurried into the kitchen. "Make sure they don't blow themselves up." She said to Cloe, who nodded. "I'm gonna go check on Tai-San."

Cloe watched her leave. The sound of pots and pans crashing to the floor came from the kitchen. As she got up to see what damage they were doing she heard the main entrance open. Wondering who would be arriving this early she went to see who it was.

Two people had entered the mall. One was wearing a green coat/cloak with a hood and it looked like she was half-carrying the other with her. When she placed the other on the steps Cloe could see she was injured. As she started down the stairs to see if she could help the one in green took down her hood. Seeing her face Cloe screamed.

"Tai-San?" Alice knocked gently on the door to her quarters. "Tai-San are you awake?" Worrying about her friend Alice opened the door what she saw on the floor shocked her. "TAI-SAN!"

PART 26

"TAI-SAN!!" Alice rushed into the room to find her friend on the floor. "Tai-San… my god… are you okay?"

Tai-San looked up, her face very pale. "I'm fine Alice."

"You're not fine." Alice helped her up and onto her bed. "You were just on your knees puking your guts out."

"Alice please…" Tai-San, still rather queasy, tried to smile as Alice handed her a cloth. "I just haven't been feeling well the past couple of mornings."

"Mornings?" Alice thought about what she said for a few seconds. "Tai-San… are you…"

She never got to finish as an ear-piercing scream echoed through the mall. Both women knew exactly who it was and they rushed to see what was the matter. They made it as far as the top of the main staircase. Standing at the bottom they could see two young girls jumping in each other's arms. They were laughing, crying and screaming all at the same time. Cloe was crying as she held onto the other girl in the long green coat.

"What the devil is going on here?" Alice asked.

The two girls separated and as soon as Alice and Tai-San caught sight of the other girls face both their jaws dropped open.

"Patsy?!?" They said in unison.

*~*

Her eyes fluttered open, barely. The blood she was laying had begun to dry, the distinctive metallic odor filling her nose. Summoning strength from deep down inside she managed to drag herself across the floor with her hands. As soon as she started to move she felt something warm all over her back, fresh blood had started to pool beneath her once again.

Every inch she moved caused her excruciating pain, but she somehow managed to drag herself to the entrance of her room. With her head and shoulders outside she collapsed again in exhaustion.

"…help me… please… someone help… me…."

*~*

Ebony continued to hold Danni by the throat. "What do you mean save Bray?"

"The General's having him brought here, he says he's not going to hurt him but I think he's lying."

"How do I know you're not lying, that this isn't just another mind game like your little torture scene earlier?"

"You don't. If you want to get out of this place alive you're going to have to trust me."

*~*

Amber was sitting by the fountain watching Dal pace the floor on front of her. "This is going to be rather difficult to explain, even I don't understand all of it."

"Just tell me."

He stopped in front of her and took a deep breath. He paused as if searching for the right words. "A very long time ago, two primal forces existed on Earth. What they truly are and how they came to be… I don't know, but they were here from almost the very beginning. At first they were… I can't explain what they were then…but as time passed they changed, became sentient, living things. They grew in intelligence and power until they both were the equal of the other, the equal and the antithesis." He paused for a moment again. "They soon became aware of each other's existence and that's when it started."

"When what started?"

"The endless war. The fight between light and dark…"

"…good and evil." Amber whispered.

*~*

Ebony pressed her forearm against Danni's throat, causing the taller girl some difficulty breathing. "What's it going to be Ebony? Are you going to kill me or do you want to get out of here?" Ebony pushed harder again for a second then released Danni. Danni rubbed her throat and took several deep breaths. "I thought you'd see it my way."

"Don't think this is over Danni. I may need you to get out of here, but once we're both free…"

She didn't finish. She didn't have to, Danni knew exactly what she meant. As she watched Ebony put on her coat Danni knew that the long-awaited showdown between the two of them was coming soon.

"Lead the way." Ebony said after opening the door.

They crept silently out into the hall and made their way down the corridor slowly. After about five minutes they reached a junction. They stopped and Danni pointed down a corridor which dead ended at an elevator, indicating that was the way they were to go.

"That's the way out." She glanced at her watch. "We have to hurry, shift change will be soon. The guard on duty up there has been up all night and he's probably half asleep." They started for the elevator. "If we're lucky we can be out of here and gone before…"

"Before what?" Ebony and Danni both froze at hearing the General's voice and the cocking of automatic weapons. "Before we know you're gone perhaps?" He started laughing. "Too late." He continued laughing as they were roughly grabbed by his men and marched away.

*~*

Amber stood up. "You're talking about good and evil. Are you actually trying to tell me that evil is a living thing?"

He understood her skepticism. Even he had trouble accepting it, and he was dead. "They're not good and evil exactly, a better description would be Order and Chaos." He sat her down. As he did she noticed he was glancing up at the second level. "Once they found out about each other they started fighting. And fight they did for thousands of years, but because they were born together and equal in power one side could never destroy the other, at least not without destroying the whole world and itself too." She saw him glance up again. "About the same time they reached this stalemate a new species had arrived on the scene. They were primitive, but Order and Chaos saw within them the solution to their endless conflict, this new species could prove who was stronger. That species was us Amber, the human race."

*~*

The café was bustling with activity. Word of Patsy's return had spread quickly and all of the Mall Rats were now gathered around welcoming their lost one home. Cloe was still holding on tightly to her hand, almost as if if she'd let it go of it Patsy would disappear again, while Patsy tried to answer every question asked of her.

They all listened as she told her tale of being taken away to the mines after being found out a spy by the Guardian. She told them of being rescued from captivity by Phoenix, being careful not to let on who he really was and how she spent the last few months traveling with her new companion and friend. Patsy had just finished when Alice and Tai-San returned to the café after carrying the unconscious Moz to a room to rest.

Tai-San felt Patsy's eyes upon her. Becoming uncomfortable she looked around. "Where's Trudy?" She asked noticing that she hadn't come with the others to welcome Patsy back. The others shook their heads.

"I'll go get her." Salene said.

She hadn't been gone more than a few seconds when the others heard her scream. They all ran to see what was the matter and upon arriving on the scene they all stopped as one and stared at the scene before them. 

Salene was kneeling beside Trudy who was lying face down in a pool of blood. Tears were running down Salene's face and her voice was no more than a whisper. "I think she's dead…"

PART 27

Amber had had enough. "No, no, no." She walked away from him.

He followed her. "It's true Amber, all of it."

"Dal this is crazy." She put her hands to her head as if doing so would make it all go away. 

He took her hands and held them tightly in his. "I know how you feel, believe me I know." He led her back to the fountain and sat her down again. "We became the soldiers to prove who was stronger. It always followed the same course, under Order's guidance great civilizations would rise and then Chaos, fearing them, would use its soldiers to bring them down."

"Dal why are you telling me this now?"

"Because it's starting again. The last battle between them was almost a thousand years ago and Order isn't ready to fight this one, not yet. You're special Amber you can bring the others together and delay the darkness until the light is ready to face them, but only if you return to the city now."

The doors to the mall burst open and a tremendous wind blew through. From outside rain poured in and the air seemed charged with electricity from the lightning. Amber could see the shadow forms gathering around the entrance. They seemed to call to her and almost against her will she started walking toward them.

Dal pulled her away by her arm. "You have to go now." He hugged her tightly. 

She didn't want to let him go. "Will I see you again?"

"I don't know." He touched her face. "But I'll always be close."

She hugged him again and kissed him tenderly on the cheek. She then turned and walked away, fading into the darkness. As Dal watched her disappear a noise could be heard from behind him. Someone dressed in a black hooded cloak was closing and barring the main entrance.

"You told her?" He asked as he finally got it sealed.

"Yes."

"She won't go."

"She might."

"When she finds out she'll follow him."

"Maybe."

"No maybe about it."

Dal finally turned around. "She'll do what her heart tells her. If that means following Bray so be it." Dal sat down on the staircase. "We still have another, she can…" He suddenly stood straight up.

The figure in black moved close to him. "What is it?"

Dal stared up at the ceiling. "Something's happened."

He moves close behind Dal and he feels it to. After a few seconds he knew what it was and his face changes. "…trudy…" He whispers. "Something's happened to Trudy."

The figure turns and runs into the darkness with Dal shouting his name as he vanishes. "Phoenix!"

*~*

Danni and Ebony we're forced down on their knees in front of the General's desk, their hands tied behind their backs. The General was pacing back and forth behind him. "You don't know how disappointed I am in you Danni." Her pulled her head by her hair. "I had such plans for you both." A junior officer appeared in the doorway. "Take them to the holding cells." The guards grabbed the two girls and marched them away. "Yes Sergeant."

He approached the General's desk. "We've received word sir. They've reached the outer boundary."

Styles smiled. "Tell security to prepare for our guests arrival." The officer didn't move. "Something else?"

"Doctor Maxwell needs to see you immediately."

A few minutes later Styles was standing main lab on Level 19. "You wanted to see me Doctor?"

A short man wearing a lab coat looked up from a microscope. He had dark hair, but it was streaked with gray and anyone who looked at him could see he was infected with the virus. "Yes sir. We've completed our tests on the antidote."

"Excellent. When will you begin distribution?"

"That's just it sir. We can't."

"Can't?"

"We've gathered all the ingredients and put them together just as the young lady instructed, but our tests while encouraging indicate that it is insufficient to halt terminal progression. We've run the sequence again and again and we've come to only one conclusion…"

"She lied." The General finished for him. 

*~*

Trudy's room was quiet. They had gently carried her back to her room and now she lay on her stomach still and motionless on her bed. The others had left them alone and only Pride, Tai-San and Alice remained in the room. Patsy stood off to the side by herself apparently unnoticed by the rest.

Pride and Alice were on either side of her bed with Tai-San standing quietly at the foot, a worried look on her face. Pride touched Trudy's neck. "I've got a pulse." He announced causing everyone to look his way. "It's weak and faint, but she's still alive."

Patsy had moved over to Tai-San. "You have to do something." She whispered into her ear causing Tai-San to stiffen. "I know about you and what you can do. You have to save her."

"I can't." She whispered.

"I know about the vow you made, but Trudy cannot die." The others had left to get some things to clean Trudy's wounds with. Patsy had moved next to her and lifted Trudy's hair exposing her neck. Tai-San stared down at a crescent shaped birthmark. "You must save her, for the sake of us all."

Alice and Pride were returning with water and towels and were nearly knocked to the ground by Tai-San as she ran from the room. They asked Patsy what was wrong, but she said nothing.

*~*

Back at Jason's cabin Amber awakens. Her two children were sleeping soundly in their makeshift crib at the foot of her bed. She gently, so as not to wake them, kisses them then goes out to the living room. She finds Nika sitting by the fireplace stoking it to take the slight chill out if the morning air.

She looks around but can't find anyone else. "Where's Bray?" Nika didn't answer her so she asked again.

"He's gone." Nika finally answered.

"Gone? What do you mean gone?"

"They left last night, Bray, Jason, Lex and Zandra."

"Where did they go?"

"They went to find you're friend, they went to rescue Ebony."

*~*

Tai-San reached under her bed and pulled an old leather bag from under it. She placed it on her bed and took out a very old leather bound book. It was thick, several hundred pages at least. She carefully turned the yellow and faded pages until she found what she was looking for. Her voiced quivered slightly as she read the passage aloud.

__

"And you will not know this woman, 

except by the mark of the moon upon her.

And she will face treachery, hatred and pain, 

but within her is the last hope."

Tai-San closed the book. She stood and straightened her tunic. "And so it begins."

PART 28

Alice dipped the washcloth into the warm water and handed it to Pride. He wiped around the wounds on Trudy's back until they were clean. He did this several more times before handing the last cloth back to Alice. "Her pulse is getting weaker."

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Alice asked.

"I can treat her wounds with some Gaian remedies, but there's some internal bleeding and even with my skills I can't stop that. She needs a real doctor."

Alice looked over at Trudy who had yet to regain consciousness. "There must be something we can do, we can't just stand here and let Trudy die."

"Trudy is not going to die." Both of them turned upon hearing Tai-San's voice. "I can save her."

*~*

"How much farther is it?" Lex asked for the umpteenth time this morning.

Jason stopped and took a drink from his canteen. He wiped his mouth and handed it to Bray behind him. "'Bout another two or three miles."

Lex took the canteen from Bray. "Better be, these boots are killing my feet." He slipped off his left boot and rubbed his sore foot. It wasn't just his foot that made him uncomfortable, he was wearing a uniform stripped off of one of the dead soldiers who attacked them and that was a little too creepy even for Lex. "I don't understand why we had to leave Zandra and the jeep back at the road."

"Because they might have patrols out guarding the perimeter and I don't want them to know we're here just yet."

They started off again and after about forty-five minutes of walking through the thick undergrowth that covered the mountain, Jason stopped them at the edge of a field of tall grass.

"What is it?" Bray asked.

"I think we're there." Jason replied.

"You think? You mean you don't know?" Lex asked as he came up beside them.

"It's been over two years, but I think…" He started walking through the tall grass then stopped about ten or twelve yards into the field. "We're here!" He shouted to the others. They joined him just as he finished uncovering what looked like a hatch that belonged on the space shuttle. "This is where I came up."

Jason took off his backpack and checked his gun to make sure it was loaded and ready. He smiled to himself for a moment and Bray asked him why. "I was just thinking how lucky it was to have this escape hatch here. I had asked Bob to install it about a week or so after we began working on the PANDORAX project. By all the regs he should've refused. A tunnel like this is a major breach of containment protocols, but a week later he said it was ready and gave me the code for it." Bray and Jason looked at each other for a moment.

Jason opened a box on the side of the hatch and punched in a code. The hatch hissed, startling Lex and Bray, then slowly opened. "Long way down." Lex said as he looked over the edge and down the dark passage.

Jason hit another button and a platform about 5 feet square with two buttons, one red, one green, appeared. He stepped up onto it and the others followed. "Ready?" He pressed the red button with his foot. "Here we go." He said as the platform slowly disappeared into the darkness below.

*~*

Against their protestations Patsy who now stood guard at the door forced Pride and Alice from the room. Inside Tai-San knelt next to Trudy and carefully removed the bandages covering her wounds. She took two crystals from her leather pouch and held them in her hands.

She placed her hands over Trudy's back. She began speaking in Chinese, slowly at first, then the words came faster, becoming lyrical. The crystals began to glow brighter and brighter. Tai-Sans words became louder and more urgent. The glow from the crystals seems to move and settle over Trudy's lower back.

Outside the others heard Tai-San almost screaming and rushed to see what was happening only to be stopped by Patsy. A flash of light could be seen from the outside and Patsy allowed them to enter. They found Tai-San sitting on her knees almost unconscious. Before they could do anything Patsy had already had her on her feet and out of the room.

"Pride! Look at this!" Alice shouted.

"My God… her wounds… they're healed." He stared at Trudy in amazement then noticed something on the floor. He bent down and picked up a blackened and burnt crystal.

*~*

"help me… with this… please…" Tai-San's voice was weak.

Patsy took the sleeve of her tunic and helped pull her arm free. "Oh my god… Tai-San you're bleeding." Patsy touched her back there was blood on her fingers.

"…it's nothing… it's to be expected… I'll be okay in a few hours…"

"I'm sorry Tai-San, I didn't know this would happen."

"…every gift has a price Patsy…" Tai-San laid on her bed. "…this is mine." She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep with Patsy standing watch over her.

PART 29

The moon is high in the night sky illuminating the dark streets. He moves silently through the overturned cars and burned out shops. He was fewer than a hundred yards from the sewer entrance when Phoenix spotted two black-clad figures apparently watching the mall. They stood there for nearly five minutes before moving on. Phoenix quickly made his way over and into the sewer before anyone knew he was even there.

Once inside guided by a long dormant memory he easily avoided the few Mall Rats who were still awake and found his destination. He was about to go in when a hand grabbed his shoulder

"What the hell are you doing here?" Patsy spun him around and pulled him into the room. "Get in here before somebody sees you."

"Something's happened to Trudy. I had to see if she was okay."

"She's fine now."

"What happened?" Patsy quickly told him about how Salene found her at the entrance of her room near death. Phoenix moves over to the bed and looks down at the sleeping Trudy. "How badly was she hurt?"

"Bad. But she's going to be all right, Tai-San healed her." He kneels down and starts stroking her hair. Patsy stares at him for a few seconds. "You shouldn't be here Phoenix."

"I can't pretend I still don't care for her."

"I know, but we can't risk somebody seeing you until we're ready." 

Just then Patsy heard the sound of someone approaching Trudy's room. Moving quickly she was outside before they got there and she managed to stop Alice from entering. Patsy was trying to tell her that Trudy needed her rest and couldn't be disturbed. Alice wasn't about to be put off though. Pushing the smaller girl aside she went in to see Trudy for herself.

Patsy quickly followed her in and they found the room was empty except for the sleeping Trudy. As Alice checked on the injured Trudy, Patsy looked around for Phoenix but couldn't see him anywhere. After a few moments Alice turned to leave.

She motioned Patsy to walk with her back to the cafe. "I've been thinking of having a guard posted outside Trudy's room."

"That's probably a good idea. When whoever managed to get in here and attack her in the first realizes she's still alive…"

"They might try again."

*~*

"Where are we?" Lex asked as the heavy door hissed shut behind him.

"Level 20, Corridor 3." Jason answered as if that meant anything to Lex. 

"Where would they be holding Ebony?" Bray asked.

"Detention cells. They're up on Level 18."

They followed the older man as he walked cautiously through the semi-dark hallways. He stopped at a junction. He took several deep breaths and Bray asked him what he was doing. "The air… can't you tell?"

Bray took several deep breaths himself. "It's not right… it's like it's…"

"Stale?" Jason finished. Bray nodded. "The scrubbers aren't working. That explains some things." He didn't elaborate further and they continued walking reaching an elevator several minutes later. 

Lex was about to hit the call button when Jason stopped him. He motioned for Bray and Lex to stand on either side of the closed doors. He pulled his sidearm and stood in front of the doors. He nodded to Lex and he pushed the button. A few seconds later the doors slid open. Jason darted inside with his weapon in front of him and made a quick check to see that no one was hiding inside waiting to ambush them.

Jason pressed the button for 18 and the elevator closed. They felt it begin to rise and almost immediately a gas started filling the lift. Bray and Lex started coughing while Jason fiddled with the control panel in a vain attempt to halt the gas flow.

After several minutes it was over and the three men lay unconscious on the floor. The elevator stopped at it's destination and a vacuum pump kicked on removing the gas making it safe for the doors to open. Outside several soldiers were waiting with their weapons drawn and ready.

A sergeant held up his hand as a signal to wait. He went inside and checked all three men. He handed the man directly behind him each of the unconscious men's weapons. "Take them to holding." He said as he straightened himself up. "I'll inform the General."

*~*

A short time later three very fatigued figures were marched into the General's office and lined up in front of the large oak desk as if on review. He paid them no notice and to Jason it seemed reminiscent if his first meeting with General Styles.

Finally Jason had enough. "Could we please get on with this." One of the soldiers standing guard behind them rushed forward and jammed the butt of his rifle into Jason's back.

"Show some respect." The General said looking at them for the first time. "Don't forget I am still your superior officer." The other man laughed. "Is there something funny?"

Jason did his best impression of one of Styles' men. "No sir!" He brought his arm up and saluted. "Nothing funny sir!" He brought his arm back down and his face became serious. "Not a goddamn thing."

As Styles got up from his desk, the prisoners noticed he lost his balance momentarily. "I must admit that yours was a face I never thought I'd see again Doctor Young."

"The feelings mutual."

He let the small insult go by. "When they told me you survived I couldn't quite believe it." Styles stood before his former junior and looked him over. "Remarkable. Not a trace of infection. You really are immune aren't you? I wonder how that happened?"

"I guess I'm just the lucky one."

The General actually chuckled. "As you can see the rest of us weren't as lucky as you were."

"I noticed. What happened? The CO2 scrubbers? I noticed the air on the lower levels when we arrived."

"Very good Jason. In case of a biological attack from a foreign power the Complex was designed to be completely self-sufficient from the outside world for up to two years, this was to allow the researchers time to develop anti-toxins and such. In addition to being fully stocked with canned and frozen food, we have a water recycling plant and a state of the art air-generating system backed up by scrubbers that pull the carbon dioxide that we breathe out from the air. In every test the government conducted the system passed with flying colors. It was deemed to be completely infallible."

"So what happened then?" Lex asked. 

"It failed." Styles explained. "About six months ago the oxy-generation unit developed a major malfunction that effectively cut its efficiency in half. As a result the CO2 scrubbers became saturated quickly and carbon dioxide started to rise near toxic levels."

"So to avoid suffocating to death you had unseal the vents and expose yourself to the outside air and the virus." Jason said.

"It was a calculated risk. There was an even chance that the virus could've burnt itself out. It was less than a week before we had our first confirmed infection. The medical section started daily injections of broad spectrum anti-biotics that seemed to slow the progress, but the virus adapted and as time went on the doses had become larger and larger until...."

"Until you reached the point where the injections themselves could've killed you."

"That's why you kidnapped Ebony." Bray said.

"They told me that Ebony would be sympathetic to our cause, but alas the young lady chose not to join the new order." Styles raised his hand and one of the guards left the room. 

He returned a few moments later half carrying/half dragging the limp form of a woman. He dropped her into a chair by the General's desk and both Bray and Lex gasped at her appearance.

Ebony's left eye was almost swollen shut and her shirt was stained with dried blood. The exposed portions of her body were covered in deep purple bruises. Bray could tell from the way that she slightly swayed in her chair that she had no idea where she was at the moment.

"Unfortunately Ebony neglected to furnish us with the final ingredient and as you can we have been unable to persuade her. So now we come to you. I need the final piece of the puzzle Bray and you will give it to me."

"Go to hell." Bray spat.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to motivate you as well." Styles nodded and the office door opened again.

Danni was shoved inside the office as soon as she saw Bray she leaped into his arms. "Bray!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and started kissing him.

"Danni?" Bray said in disbelief.

The guard pulled her away and she noticed the other two people with him. Lex was standing to Bray's left and they were both wearing army fatigues. She looked over to the right and saw.... no it couldn't be him. She blinked her eyes a few times and he was still there. "Uncle Jason?"

"Danni!" Jason shouted as he tried to reach out and grab her, but Styles pulled her back to him and held her tightly by the arm.

"Sorry to break up this family reunion but we do have business. The antidote if you please."

Jason spoke for all of them. "You won't get a damn thing from us until you let the girls go."

Styles smiled at him, it was a cold smile. "You're in no position to make demands Jason. As you can see I hold all the cards." Styles took his gun from his holster and put it to Danni's head. "The antidote gentlemen." He cocked the gun. "Now."

PART 30

Patsy was right, it was very foolish for him to come back to the mall, his nearly being caught by the woman Alice was proof of that, but he had to see if Trudy was okay. He owed Tai-San a debt of honor, he knew what using her special gift cost her and he would always be grateful to her for risking her own life to save Trudy's. It settled his mind to know that she was out of danger.

He had to get back to the outside. He couldn't afford to be caught now there was still too much to be done, to much to prepare for and time was running out.

Down of the ground level Pride was making another round checking to see that everything was secure. The attack on Trudy had unnerved him greatly. The fact that whoever did it managed to get in and out of the mall without being seen or heard proved that it had to be someone who was familiar with the place.

After checking to see that the main entrance was locked and secure Pride was about to head back upstairs to his room. Before reaching the stairs he heard someone moving in the shadows. Taking cover he watched as a hooded figure walked silently toward the sewer.

Phoenix was still deep in thought, if his mind hadn't been elsewhere he never would've been taken by surprise. A strong hand grabbed his shoulder. He instinctively took the hand and in one swift move flipped the man behind him over his shoulder. Pride landed on his back but was quickly on his feet again. 

A roundhouse kick from Pride sent Phoenix flying back. He tucked and rolled and came up, albeit unsteadily, on his feet. Pride came at him again. Strike. Block. Strike. Block. Their movements fell into a pattern and neither could seem to get in the one blow that would end it.

The fight had gone from the sewer entrance over to the main staircase and the commotion from it had sent almost all of the Mall Rats scurrying to see what was going on.

Alice who had been tending to Dylan was one of the first to hear something and she left her patient to check. Feeling his strength returning Dylan followed Alice and together they watched the spectical below them.

Dylan stared at the man in the dark hood and suddenly got a strange feeling of deja vu. There was something about the man, his style of fighting, then it hit him. He knew who it was.

*~*

Style held the gun to Danni's head and to emphasize the point he cocked the gun. "Now." The frightened girl started to shake. "Believe me. I will kill her."

"You're gonna kill her anyway when you get what you want." Jason told him. "And the rest of us as well so why should we help you at all."

The General glares at him for a moment then put his gun away. The others could see Danni visibly relax. "You're quite right Jason you are going to die, but how quickly you die is up to you." Still holding on to Danni with his left hand Styles grabs on of her breasts with his right. "Do you really want your precious... niece... to suffer." Lex had to hold Bray back as they watched him fondle her. "I can make her torment last as nearly as long as mine if I choose."

Glaring at the madman holding his niece Jason thought it over and came to a decision. "Give it to him."

"What?" Lex exclaimed. "Are you out of your freaking mind?"

"Are you sure about this?" Bray asked him.

"I'm sure."

*~*

After making sure that Tai-San was still resting Patsy scurried through the mall to see what was happening. She knew instantly who was fighting with Pride when she heard. Now that he's been caught she could only hope that he can get away before they found out who he really was.

Passing a deserted shop Patsy is attacked by a figure dressed in black with ghostly white make-up. Still holding her makeshift staff she hits him in the stomach. The figure drops to his knees gasping for air as Patsy whirls the staff around and knocks him unconscious.

Another figure comes at her and she dispatches him just as quickly. Looking around she sees more white-faced shapes running through the mall. Turning back on her heels she rushes to get Tai-San and hope they can warn the others before it is too late.

*~*

Pride and Phoenix are still fighting neither one giving up or showing any weakness. But Pride can sense that although his opponent is one of the best fighters he's ever been up against he is starting to weaken. The other Mall Rats are watching when Pride seizes his opportunity. He fakes Phoenix out and manages to hit him in the right knee which he notices he's been favoring.

Phoenix drops in obvious pain. Not wanting to lose the advantage Pride tries to strike him the jaw, but Phoenix moves his head slightly and he only manages to knock the hood from Phoenix's head.

The Mall Rats are staring at him when they hear Cloe scream. Pride and Phoenix look up and see that they are completely surrounded. The Bringers of Chaos have taken over the mall.

PART 31

Cloe's screams echo through the mall as the Bringer of Chaos descends upon them. Phoenix surprises Pride by flipping over his back and sending his foot into the face of a Bringer rushing toward them. Pride instantly returns the favor and the two men merely nod at one another.

Knowing that the man in the hood is not his enemy Pride leaves him to help Cloe break free from her attacker. No sooner did he have her loose then they were both assaulted by a half-dozen figures in black. Pride put up a valiant fight but there were too many and he was simply beaten down.

The other Mall Rats were no more successful. Superior numbers quickly overpowered them and when it was all over, the Mall Rats were prisoners in their own home.

*~*

The mall is deserted and dark. A lone figure stands at the staircase screaming up at the celing. "Why won't you talk to me? What's going on?" A bright light suddenly appears and he sheilds his eyes from it. A figure dressed in a white gown materializes. Dal recognizes the young woman. It's Amber. "Tell me what's going on?"

"It has begun." Amber says in a lyrical voice.

"But we aren't ready yet."

"It is no longer in my control. The endless battle has begun again. We do not want this, but there is nothing to do now except play the parts destiny has chosen for us."

Dal shouts at the image of Amber as it begins to fade. "Wait!" Amber reappears. "Give me a little more time, I beg of you. I know my friends they'll succeed in stopping them or at least delaying them enough to give us time."

"And if they cannot?" Dal said nothing. Amber's image stood silently for several minutes. "We shall watch for now, but if the forces of Chaos grow in strength we will do what must be done and the great wheel will turn again."

*~*

Almost immediately after being thrown into a holding cell Lex laid into Bray. "What the hell were you thinking man? I can't believe you gave that lunatic what he wanted."

"Lex calm down."

"Calm down? Once these crazies are cured their gonna walk out of here and do god knows what."

"Lex give it rest." Bray turned to Jason who was looking over the still groggy Ebony. "Why did you have me give him the formula? Like you said earlier now that he has it he has no reason to keep us alive."

"I'm playing for time." He finished his quick examination of Ebony then continued. "Styles and the people down here don't have much time left to them and I had no doubt that Styles would've killed us immediately if we hadn't given him the antidote. Now that he has it he's not going to do anything to us until he's certain that it works. I've bought us some time."

"Time for what?" Lex asked.

"Time to make sure that Styles and his followers never leave this place."

*~*

Back at the mall, the Bringers are conducting a search for the few Mall Rats who managed to elude them. One of them is tearing apart Trudy's room. Confident that it is empty he leaves not knowing that just above him, hiding in the ceiling, Patsy is looking down at him.

Silently she makes her way back to where she and Tai-San had hidden Trudy. Tai-San is watching over her sleeping friend when Patsy jumps down from the ceiling startling her. "Sorry."

"How does it look out there?"

"The Bringers are everywhere. They have everyone down by the fountain it looks like we're they only ones who got away and Phoenix."

"What was Phoenix doing here?"

"He came to see Trudy." Patsy saw the look Tai-San gave her. "I know, I know. I told him it was a stupid idea." Feeling warm Patsy took off her coat. "So what do we do?"

Tai-San didn't answer her.

*~*

"Where the hell am I?" Lex looked around. He was standing in complete darkness. It became lighter and lighter and Lex found himself back in the mall. "Oh man not another damn dream."

"'Fraid so." Came a voice from behind him.

"Dal?"

"Long time no see Lex."

"Dal? But you're dead."

"Yes I am."

"What the hell...."

"Lex there isn't time for this." Dal put his hand on Lex's shoulder. "There are some things you need to know and we don't have a lot of time."

*~*

A short while later Lex feels a hand on his shoulder gently shaking him. He opens his eyes to find Bray standing over him. "I'm up man, I'm up."

"We're ready." Bray told him.

"Then lets go do it."

They all looked at Jason who was standing next to the door. "Okay. I just hope they haven't cancelled all my backdoor codes." He punched in a few numbers and the cell door slid open and the five of them cautiously moved out into the hall.

"Where to now?" Lex asked.

"We find a computer station." Jason answered.

"Then what?"

"We activate the sterilization procedure and we torch everything thing on Level 19, virus and antidote."

Some ten minutes later they found an empty office with mainframe access. Jason took a seat at the computer and entered the system. Bray and Lex were watching outside for any signs of security when they heard Jason swear.

"God dammit!"

Bray turned in time to see Jason slam his fist down on the desk. "What is it?"

"I can't get in. Styles has rescinded the fail-safe codes I can't trigger them from here."

"What does that mean?" Bray asked.

"It means were totally screwed." Lex answered.

Bray ignored him. "What can we do?"

"The only thing we can do is go down to 19 and activate the sterilization protocols manually." He motioned to Danni who helped Ebony to her feet. "Come on, I'll tell you on the way."

PART 32

"Ebony?" Danni, noticing that Ebony had fallen behind again, had turned away from the others as they moved through the lower corridors of the Complex. "Are you all right? Do you need a rest?"

She brushed away Danni's hand that had moved to her shoulder. "I'm fine. I don't need any help, I just need to catch my breath."

Danni stood there for a moment then took Ebony's arm, wrapped it around her shoulder, and started walking with her. "You can catch your breath when we get out of here, till then we need to keep together."

A couple of minutes later they caught up with the others. "Where are we Uncle Jason?"

"The main lab is just past that junction up there." He answered pointing in front of him.

"How many do you think are in there?" Bray asked.

"No way to know. We just have to deal with them all before they trigger the alarm."

Jason told Danni to stay back with Ebony and he and the others positioned themselves by the entrance to the main lab. Jason punched in his access code and the door hissed open. 

*~*

Forced down on their knees the Mall Rats watch as Becca, the leader of the Bringers of Chaos parades triumphantly in front of her captives, looking down on them with scorn. "Look at you. How pathetic you are." Alice scowls at Becca's words, but a Bringer forces her head back down. "They were so worried about you, so afraid of you and what you could do to their plans."

"Who exactly are 'they'?" Pride asked. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about power and chaos."

"Not that rubbish again. The Guardian tried that already and you know what happened to him." Alice spat.

"The Guardian was a fool!" Becca shouted at her. "He saw the truth and his feeble mind couldn't handle it. So he turned instead to the worship of one greater than himself."

"And what truth was that?" Pride asked.

"The wheel is turning again, Order has had its thousand years and now its Chaos' turn to be on top. The virus has wiped away the unworthy and left us, the chosen ones."

"Chosen nutters more like." KC muttered under his breath.

One of the Bringer guards stepped up and kicked him in the stomach. "Be silent." KC fell face forward to the floor.

"Why are you doing this?" Salene says as a frightened Brady squirms in her arms. "What do you people want?"

"We want what's ours." Becca stands before them. "You and others have had your chance, it's our turn now. It all starts here, from here the Bringers of Chaos will spread across the world." As she speaks, Phoenix is moving silently along the upper level. "You and the other Soldiers of the Light will fall before us and with power and chaos we will build a new world, a world where only the strong survive."

Unknown to everyone, Phoenix had quickly and quietly taken out two of the Bringers standing guard on the upper level. He managed to catch Pride's attention and he nodded in understanding.

*~*

They had gotten lucky only Doctor Maxwell and two techs were on duty in the main lab and the three men had swiftly dealt with them. While Lex and Bray tied the men up, Jason sat at the computer station and got to work.

Bray came back in and asked him how it was going. "Good. I'm in the system. Wait a minute, this is interesting. They were doing some pretty intense research."

"On what?" Bray asked as he moved behind Jason.

"The antidote." Jason punched up the relevant files. "They got pretty far in the last couple of years, in fact they were getting pretty damn close, given enough time they would've cracked it themselves."

Lex had come in and joined them. "Well it was lucky for us they got infected."

"Yeah, lucky." Jason said. He sat motionless for a moment as if he was thinking about something then started typing again. "I'm in the mainframe." He swore to himself. "Styles had gotten here too."

"What did he too?"

"The sterilization protocols have been deactivated."

"What does that mean?" Bray asked.

"It means I can't access the primary controls, but I think..." He typed some codes into the computer. "Yes, I can do it." He continued typing.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to run a bypass. If we're lucky I might be able to destroy the labs."

"Will that stop them from developing the antidote?" Lex asked.

"There's no way to be sure. But all of their research and what little of the antidote they managed to develop will be destroyed and with the little time they have left they may not last long enough to recreate anything."

"Hopefully."

"Hope is all we have Lex."

Unknown to the three men Ebony and Danni had left the lab and wandered across the hall to the infirmary. Once the door slid open both young women were hit by a smell that nearly made them vomit.

Ebony stood by the door while Danni went to fetch the others and together the five of them entered. What they saw was beyond description there were over twenty beds in the room and not only were they occupied but the space on the floors between them was filled.

They moved slowly and silently through the morbid scene. "Are they all dead?" Danni asked in a whisper.

"I think so." Jason answered. He noticed that his niece was looking rather green. "Why don't you and Ebony keep watch outside while we have a quick look around." Danni merely nodded and Ebony rolled her eyes at Jason.

Taking a knapsack from a cupboard, Lex started emptying cabinets of drugs and supplies into it. Bray asked him what he was doing. "This place is going to be toast in a little while, why let all this stuff go up in smoke especially when we could use it to help ourselves."

Bray looked at Jason who nodded in agreement then grabbed another knapsack and started filling it. As Lex emptied one of the last cabinets, he thought he heard something close to him. He stood silently for a moment and he heard it again. It was coming from a nearby bed that was shrouded by a hanging curtain.

He motioned for the others and they rushed over to him. Bray and Lex stood back and let Jason open the curtain. They heard an audible gasp and stepped forward to see for themselves.

The figure was that of a woman, or what appeared to be a woman. He hair was a gray/white. Her face was etched with deep wrinkles. Her bare arms were spotted with open sores.

"oh my god..." They heard Jason whisper. "...kay."

*~*

"We've searched everywhere there's no sign of Trudy or Tai-San."

Becca turned and glared at her follower as he finished his report. "Search again. There is no way for them to escape, they have to be here. Find them."

Above them Phoenix, now joined by Patsy (Tai-San remained hidden to keep Trudy safe), was getting into position awaiting the right moment. Becca sent several of her men out to find the missing Mall Rats and she was now left with only a few Bringers guarding the others.

He got Pride's attention and gave him the signal. Pride immediately started coughing, like he couldn't breathe. The guard nearest him bent down to check on him and Pride head-butted him.

The guard cried out as he staggered back and just as the other two went to help him, Phoenix and Patsy attacked together. Phoenix lept from the upper level and landed on the two guards while Patsy ran down the stairs swinging her staff at the last man.

Regaining his senses, the Bringer hit by Pride rushed toward him again. Pride stood up and even with his hands bound behind his back, he managed to make short work of him.

Phoenix dealt with his two opponents just as swiftly a couple of roundhouse kicks and a couple of well-placed punches was all he needed.

Patsy was releasing the other Mall Rats when Becca attacked her. She squealed as Becca pulled her away by one of her ponytail. She tried to defend herself but Becca blocked her punches. She had forced Patsy down to one knee and was about to strike her again when a strong hand grabbed her forearm.

"Leave her alone." Phoenix growled. He spun Becca around and she landed on her rear end hard. "If you value your life... leave now."

Becca glared at him for a moment then swung her leg around and knocked Phoenix off balance. She on her feet quickly and backhanded Phoenix twice before he knew what was happening.

The Mall Rats, all free now thanks to Patsy, hand there own hands full with the rest of the Bringers. The element of surprise they had before now gone the few Bringers who had remained in the mall were quickly defeated and soon Becca and Phoenix were the only ones still fighting.

As the fight progressed it started to become clear to everyone watching that Becca was outmatched against Phoenix who blocked and countered her attacks easily.

While the Mall Rats watched the fight, the traitor stood among them fingering the dagger she used on Trudy waiting for the right moment to strike. A voice in her head told her to wait her time will come.

"You're a fool Becca." Phoenix told her as they circled each other. "Chaos is only using you. Once you served your purpose it'll abandoned you for another puppet."

"Liar." She screamed at him. "You don't know what you're talking about. I've pledged my life to power and chaos and it will always protect those serve it."

"I used to think that too."

"What do you know about power and chaos?"

"More than you could ever hope to know."

Becca lunges at Phoenix. He avoids her punch, but she manages to knock his hood off. Upon seeing his face she freezes and she's not the only one. The Mall Rats, the Bringers, everyone near stare at him in shock and disbelief.

They know him. His hair has changed, it's now long and straight and pulled back into a long ponytail, his eyes are now their natural color again, but its his face they know and although there is now a burn scar on the left side of his face near the ear, none of them could ever forget that face.

However, it's Becca who whispers his name. "Zoot."

PART 33

Time has stood still. No one dares to move. They all merely stand and stare. This is the moment the Chosen had long awaited, but they are not here to rejoice in their god's resurrection. The only ones to witness this event are those who never believed this day would come and they can only stand and stare.

Becca whispers his name. "Zoot."

"Once." He says. "In another lifetime."

"It can't be you." She crawls away on her back as he moves toward her. "You're dead."

"I'm doing much better now."

The few Bringers who remained have now fled upon seeing the return of Zoot leaving Becca to face Zoot and the Mall Rats alone. Moz, seizing the opportunity to take a little revenge for her beating advances on Becca.

Zoot grabs her arm and stops her allowing Becca a few seconds to escape with her life.

Moz is furious at him. "What the hell did you do that for? She's getting away."

"She's not getting away." Zoot straightened up and placed his hood back over his head. "Her masters don't tolerate failure."

*~*

"Do you know where we're going?" Zandra asked as she trudged through the thick undergrowth. Finally they came to a halt and while her companion stood silently staring at the wilderness before them, Zandra asked her again. Her companion didn't answer. "Amber?"

"What?" 

"I asked you where we were going?"

"I don't know."

Zandra sighed and wiped her forehead with the sleeve of her jacket. "Great. First I get left, by my own husband mind you, to watch over a stupid jeep in the middle of nowhere with god knows what kind of animals wandering around, while he and the man who helped save my life go off to rescue that witch Ebony from another psycho who unleashed the virus that...."

Amber cut her off. "Zan you're babbling." She reached behind her and grasped Zandra's forearm and gave it a comforting squeeze. "I'm worried about them too."

Zandra smiled and put her hand on Amber's. "Okay, so which way now?"

Amber thought for a moment, then pointed in the direction. "That way."

Without giving Zandra a chance to argue, Amber started off in that direction. Zan sighed again and after a couple of quick strides, she caught up with her friend.

*~*

Jason knelt down next to the bed. He looked on in shock at the condition of his former lover who now bore little resemblance to the woman he almost married a lifetime ago. "Kay..." He touched her forehead. "Kay..."

The still form in the bed began to move slightly. Her eyes parted open a little and although her vision was cloudy, she knew who it was who was there with her.

"....jason...."

"Yes Kay, it's me."

"i... i knew... you'd come back..." She coughed and blood leaked out from the corner of her mouth, causing Lex and Bray to turn away. "...you were right... i should've... should've let you... destroy it..."

Jason felt her fingers weakly clasp his hand. "What happened here Kay?"

"...i happened..."

"I don't under...."

"it was me... i did it..."

"Did what?"

"...i didn't know... couldn't believe..." She became agitated and her breathing increased. "...they were calling us... begging for... for our help..." She coughed up blood again. "i saw... i saw the reports... so many dead... all my fault... my fault..." Tears fell from her eyes. "...i tried to stop them... tried to..."

"Stop them how?"

"...i knew what... what to do..." She smiled. "...i did it..."

She started to lose consciousness. "Kay! Stay with me! What did you do?"

She was still smiling. "... i did it..."

"Did what?"

"...i... i sab... sabotaged... the air system..."

"The oxy-generation unit?" Jason asked and she nodded. "You caused the malfunction?"

She nodded again. "...i couldn't let... that madman leave here... not after... not after knowing what i know... i had to stop them any way... i could... and i did... not much time now... not much time left..."

She grabbed Jason hand forcefully startling him. "...it's wrong... all of it... it has to stop... i've seen the truth... i know... i know..."

Kay lapsed back into unconsciousness and try as he might Jason could not get her to wake again. Finally he gave up and joined Lex and Bray who were still standing nearby.

He looked at them for a moment then ran out of the infirmary and over to the lab.

Bray and Lex rushed after, followed by Danni and Ebony who just saw Jason fly past them. They all entered the lab and found him tearing it apart looking for something.

He was pulling test tubes off shelves and tossing them to the floor breaking them when he sees it's not what he wants. After breaking the lock off a cabinet, he finds what he's been looking for.

"What is that?" Ebony asks.

"The antidote." He answers. "Or to be more precise, the antidote you gave them, minus one important thing."

They watched as he emptied the contents of one tube into a syringe. Then he places the rest of the half-dozen or so tubes into a container, which he handed to Bray to put in one of the knapsacks.

"What are you going to do with that?" Bray asked.

"I'm giving it to Kay." The others followed him back to the infirmary and watched as he injected the serum into the unconscious woman.

"That won't help her." Ebony told him. "That's why I left that ingredient out."

"I know that. It may not kill the virus, but the notes I read shows that it will slow progression enough to maybe give us some time."

"Time for what?"

"Time to get her the real antidote." Jason turned to leave, but before he did, he told Danni to get Kay ready to go.

He went back to the lab with the others in tow. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ebony asked.

"She's coming with us."

"The hell she is."

Jason glared at Ebony. "I don't know who you are or what makes you think you have a say in this, but she's coming. I am not going to let her die down here."

Danni returned a few minutes later. "She's ready."

"Good." Jason sat down at the computer station. "I'm going to activate the manual controls. Once I enter my access code, the countdown will start. From there we have five minutes to vacate this level." He looked to Bray who knew what he wanted. "I want the rest of you to get to the lift." He looked at the clock on the desk. "I'll give you five minutes then I'll punch in my code."

Bray returned a few seconds later holding Kay in his arms. "Let's go."

The others filed, but Danni stayed behind. "Uncle Jason?"

"Go on Princess, I'll be right behind you."

Danni hugged him tightly then left with the others.

Jason sat quietly at the computer watching the minutes tick by and after what seemed like an eternity, he started to input his access code. He had nearly finished when he heard the sound of a gun cocking behind him.

"Put your hands where I can see them Doctor Young and turn around." With his arms raised, Jason spun around in his chair. "Now get up." Styles motioned with his gun. "Over there." He looked at the computer. "I'm afraid you weren't quite quick enough Doctor. A smart man like you should've realized that it was finished a long time ago."

"I'm going to stop you Styles."

"I seriously doubt that because in a couple of minutes you're going to be dead and I wouldn't count on one of your young friends rescuing you either because they're going to be joining you."

*~*

"Shouldn't we have waited for Jason?" Lex asked as they approached the escape lift.

"We will." Bray answered. "I just want to get the girls up to the surface and out of danger." Bray sets Kay down and enters the access code Jason gave him.

The door had barely opened when the corridor was suddenly riddled with gunfire.

PART 34

In the main lab Jason and Styles face off. "Don't count on your young friends coming to rescue you because they're going to be joining you. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they meet you there."

"You son of a bitch!" Jason lunged toward Styles and grabbed his gun hand.

The two men struggled for possession of the weapon. Despite his infection Styles was still remarkably strong and managed to shove Jason away. He leveled his weapon at Jason's head.

*~*

Bullets continued to ricochet off the walls as Bray and the others dove for cover on opposite sides of the corridor. Lex had his gun out and was returning fire but he was firing blindly and not sure he was even hitting anything.

"Lex are you okay?" Bray shouted.

"I'm fine." Lex answered.

"Danni?"

"She's okay too, but Ebony has been hit." 

"How bad?"

"I can't tell."

Bray looked over and saw Danni trying to stop blood gushing from Ebony's right leg with one of the sleeve's of her jacket.

Lex fired his weapon a few more times. "That's it man! I'm out."

Bray fired his final few shots. "So am I."

The soldiers stopped shooting at them a few seconds later. "Throw out your weapons and come out now with your hands where we can see them!"

Bray and Lex looked at each other then tossed their guns into the corridor. Bray walked out with his hands raised followed a few seconds later by Lex.

"Where are the girls?" One of the soldiers asked. 

"One of them has been wounded, she needs a doctor." Bray told them. 

"I wouldn't worry about her she soon won't be needing a doctor." The lead soldier said menacingly.

*~*

The Mall Rats stood around the cafe staring and talking to themselves while Zoot sat motionless in a chair at the end of the table. He ignored all questions about where he had been and what had happened to him. Patsy finally had enough and laid in them for interrogating her friend.

It was Alice who reminded Patsy of who Zoot was and what he had done. "I don't care who he was then. I know who he is now and I know that if it wasn't for him I would've died when the Chosen sent me away."

"And we're all thankful for that sweetie." Salene said. "But you can't really blame us with everything that's happened to us, first with the Locos and then the Chosen for being worried about him. I mean he is still Zoot."

"Zoot is dead." They all turned toward Phoenix. His voice was calm, but they could tell he was getting agitated. "He died when he went over that balcony and all that he was died with him. I was reborn in flame, I am Phoenix." He rose from his chair. "You can believe that Zoot is gone or not. It doesn't matter to me either way I have more important things to worry about."

He started to leave when Alice blocked his way. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I have things to do." He stared at her intensely, but Alice refused to move.

She was surprised when two strong hands pulled her out of the way. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Let me go!" She yelled at Dylan.

Phoenix eyed him curiously and nodded at him. He motioned for Patsy. "It's not over yet. Do everything you can to convince them, get Tai-San to help you get them ready for what's coming."

"How much time do we have?"

"I don't know. The Bringers defeat today helped."

He was walking away when Patsy shouted at him. "What are you going to do?"

"Talk to some friends."

*~*

Two of the soldiers grab the wounded Ebony and drag her into the open. Danni tries to help but she is pushed away.

"She needs a doctor." Danni yells.

"I'd be more worried about yourself if I were you." The soldier replies. Danni is stood next to Bray and Lex against the wall. "Any last words? A last request?"

"How about letting us go?" Lex says sarcastically.

The pacing soldier stops in front of him. "I think not." He moves to stand with the other two soldiers who were firing on them and raises his arm. "The General has ordered your immediate execution." The two soldiers raise their weapons. 

"Ready..." Danni instinctly grabs Bray's hand. "Aim... Fi..."

A shot rings out and Danni sees his head explode. Their would be executioners turn and before they can fire their weapons they are shot in the chest and fall to the floor dead.

"Jason!" Bray yells as their rescuer comes into view.

He's limping slightly and his face is bruised and bloody. "Sorry I'm late."

"You got here man, that's all I care about." Lex says. "Now can we please get the hell out of here."

Bray moved to the escape hatch. "We're on our way."

While Bray opened the hatchway Danni pulled Jason over to look at Ebony. After setting the unconscious Kay onto the lift Bray came back out to help them move Ebony. It was then that Jason told he wasn't going up with them.

"What do you mean you're not coming?" Danni asked.

"I wasn't able to complete inputting my code before Styles stopped me. I have to get up there and finish we can't let them get develop the cure."

"How far did you get?" Bray asked.

"Three numbers to go."

"What are they?"

"Forget it kid."

"Jason we need you up there right now."

"Bray's right Uncle Jason. Ebony's hurt bad and you're the only who can help her." Danni told him.

"I can enter the last three numbers." Bray said.

"You don't know what you're saying."

"Yes, I do." 

Jason stared at him. "Press 337, then Enter, after that you got five minutes to vacate the level."

"I understand." Bray shook Jason's hand before he moved onto the platform with the others. 

Lex was still standing outside. "Kinda crowded. I'll take the next one."

Jason stepped on the up button and the platform rose and disappeared into the darkness. It returned a few minutes later. 

"Okay Lex you're next." Bray said.

"Not this time man."

"Quit playing around we've got to go."

"You've got to go."

"I'm not gonna argue with you. Get the hell in there!"

"I'm not gonna argue either." Having said that Lex let loose with a right cross that dazed Bray. He dragged Bray onto the platform and sealed the door behind him. "Sorry bro, I know what you're planning to do, but I'm afraid you don't get to play hero this time."

Bray woke up just in time to see the door close. He jumped up and saw through the thick glass Lex smashing the panel that controls the pressure lock. "LEX!!"

"Go on get out of here! You don't have much time!" Lex shouted.

"I'm not leaving without you!"

"Bray it'll be all right. I finally understand now!" Bray looked at Lex and noticed that he was holding his right side and that his fingers were covered with blood. "Now get the hell out of here those babies up there need you!" 

Bray watched him turn and head down the corridor. He pounded on the door screaming Lex's name as the elevator platform started to rise. "Lex! Lex!! LEX!!!"

PART 35

Amber stood at the hatch entrance waiting for the platform to return to the surface while Jason attended Ebony's wound. She glanced over and saw Ebony holding on tightly to Danni's hand, while the other girl gently wiped her forehead with a damp cloth.

She bent down and asked Jason how it was going. "I've managed to stop the bleeding for now." He replied. "We need to get her back to the cabin as soon as possible." Amber asked about Kay. "She's sleeping, the injection I gave her down below should give me enough time to get her the real antidote, we need to get them both away from here."

"I've sent Zandra to get the jeep. Once Bray and Lex get up here I'll start out after her."

The sound of the platform coming up startled them both. Amber rose to greet him and it was only after they embraced that she realized that he was alone. "Where's Lex?" He didn't answer her. "Bray?"

*~*

Lex made it back to the main lab in quick time, he couldn't understand why there weren't more security patrols out looking for him and the others, but he wasn't going to question his luck.

The door to the lab was still open. On the floor, Lex could see a trail of blood leading out of the room and down the corridor. He followed the trail inside and saw a large pool of dried blood in the middle of the floor.

Putting it out of his mind for the moment, he found the computer where Jason was working. It was still online and waiting for the final numbers of the access code.

Lex took a deep breath. "Now or never man." He said to himself. "3... 3..." He hesitated. "...7!" He punched the last number and ran from the lab just as all the lights turned red.

"ATTENTION.... ATTENTION...." A loud computerized voice echoed through the Complex. "LEVEL 19 VIRAL CONTAINMENT FAILURE.... STERILIZATION WILL COMMENCE IN FIVE MINUTES...."

*~*

Amid the blaring sirens and the flashing red lights on Level 19 a figure stumbles/crawls through the chaos. It is Styles and he knows he doesn't have long to live.

"STERILIZATION IN FOUR MINUTES...."

He reaches the main lift but it does not open for him. He punches his personal code into the keypad, his bloody fingers leaving their mark.

"Access denied...." A computerized voice said when he finished. "Containment protocols are in effect.... Access denied...."

"Open goddamn you!" Styles pounded his fists against the lift doors.

"STERILIZATION IN THREE MINUTES...."

Styles slid down to his knees weak from blood loss. He noticed it suddenly got very dark around him. "Help me..." He said to the darkness. "You can't leave me to die... help me..."

The darkness morphed into a shadow-shape in front of him. **You have served your purpose.**

"Help me!" Styles screams. "I've served you faithfully all my life. I've done everything you've ever asked of me. You need us to do your work. You can't leave me."

**We thank you for your service to us General, but as you are fond of saying, the old world is gone.** The shadow-form morphs into that of a man wearing a jump suit and a kind of metal mask. **The new world begins... It is our turn now.**

"NO!" Styles screams. "You can't leave me here! Please!"

The shadow vanishes leaving General Thomas Styles, the man who released PANDORAX, the man who destroyed the world, to die alone.

*~*

"STERILIZATION IN TWO MINUTES...."

Lex wasn't sure how he knew where he was going, it was like his body knew exactly which corridor he should take and with time counting down he wasn't going to argue.

He was out of breath, tired, weak and his wound had started bleeding again when he reached the service lift. Lex punched in a code he didn't know he knew.

"Access denied.... Containment protocols are in effect.... Access denied...."

As he punched in another code, he didn't notice his hand was trembling.

"Access granted.... Override accepted...."

He heard a loud click and the doors partially opened.

"STERLIZATION IN ONE MINUTE, THIRTY SECONDS...."

Lex forced them open the rest of the way. Unfortunately, there was no lift, it was still many levels above, locked into position by the emergency, so Lex was looking instead into a very dark and empty elevator shaft.

Leaning against the wall for support, Lex peered into the shaft. Unknown to him the corridor behind him grew dark. Shadows on the walls and floor slowly creeped toward him and within a few seconds, the corridor was completely black.

"STERILIZATION IN ONE MINUTE, FIFTEEN SECONDS...."

Lex suddenly felt a cold chill go down his spine. He turned and stared at the blackness before him. He could feel it calling to him, beckoning him toward it, but he refused to move.

The blackness started to swirl in front of him. A vaguely humanoid form started to take shape. When is was finished the darkness retreated behind it and the form of a beautiful young oriental woman dressed in a short green skirt and a matching bare-midriff shirt appeared.

"Lex...." The woman said smiling sweetly at him.

"Tai-San?"

"STERILIZATION IN ONE MINUTE...."

*~*

Back at the mall things had quieted down a bit since Phoenix had left. Tai-San had come down for a cup of a tea after being relieved of Trudy-watching by Salene who thought that Brady's presence might help her wake up.

Jack had gone off in search of Ellie who hadn't been seen since Phoenix's unmasking, while Pride was looking for May who wandered off as well. Moz and Dylan were escorted back to the improvised sick beds they were resting in before.

The rest of the Mall Rats were still gathered in the cafe. Patsy was sitting with Cloe and KC trying not laugh as KC kept touching Cloe under the table, making her squeal.

Tai-San was talking with Alice when she suddenly went as rigid as a statue.

"Tai-San? What's wrong?"

*~*

"STERILIZATION IN FIFTY SECONDS...."

The form of Tai-San walked slowly toward Lex with her hand out to him. "You don't have to do this Lex. You don't have to die for them." She inched a little closer to him.

"That's far enough."

"STERILIZATION IN FORTY SECONDS...."

"Is this how you want it to end Lex?"

"If it means stopping you then that's how it's got to be."

"We have many more followers Lex. Order has already lost. Don't sacrifice yourself for nothing."

"STERILIZATION IN THIRTY SECONDS...."

"You don't know what you're giving up Lex. Your life, our life together...." Tai-San's form shimmered and changed slightly. He hair grew longer, her face became fuller, he breasts grew becoming larger and rounder, while her stomach swelled. Lex gasped as the image of a nine months pregnant Tai-San. "....and the chance to watch our baby be born and grow up."

"STERILIZATION IN TWENTY SECONDS...."

Tai-San rested her hands on her belly. "Can you really just give all of this up? Our child is growing within me and you're going to throw your life away for a lost cause."

"STERILIZATION IN TEN SECONDS...."

Tai-San held out her hand. "I can save you."

"....NINE SECONDS...."

Lex didn't move.

"....EIGHT SECONDS...."

"There's still time."

"....SEVEN SECONDS...."

Lex move from against the wall and stood facing Tai-San with his back to the empty elevator shaft.

"....SIX SECONDS...."

He smiled at Tai-San.

"....FIVE SECONDS...."

She smiled back at him.

"....FOUR SECONDS...."

"You are so beautiful." He told her.

"....THREE SECONDS...."

She reached out to him. "Just take my hand Lex."

"....TWO SECONDS...."

A tear ran down Lex's cheek. "I love you Tai-San."

"....ONE SECOND...."

Lex raised his arms and fell backward into the shaft.

"....STERILIZATION COMMENCING...."

A faint rumbling could be heard, like a strong wind. The creature in the form of Tai-San turned and saw a wall of flame rushing toward her. The flame enveloped her and Tai-San let out an inhuman scream.

*~*

Tai-San had not moved. Alice saw tears well up and fall from her eyes. The tea cup she was holding fell from her hand and shattered on the floor causing the others in the cafe to look in her direction.

Tai-San was sobbing uncontrollably. "no.... no.... no...."

"Tai-San what is it? What's wrong?" Alice asked.

"no.... he can't be...." She said through tears.

"Who?"

"it's lex...." She whispered. "....he's gone."

PART 36

The Bringers of Chaos stand in a circle while their leader Becca screams at them. "Cowards!" She grabs one of her men and slaps him. "The tide turns for a brief second and you run away like frightened children."

"I seem to remember you being fast on your feet as well." A voice from behind tells her.

Becca turns to see the Mall Rat traitor. She was about to lay into her too when she notices that the girl's eyes were completely black.

"We would've beat them if it hadn't been for Zoot." She told her. "We should've been warned about him."

"Zoot does not matter." The Mall Rat says. "You lost because you attacked too soon." She walks around Becca. "The Bringers of Chaos were to keep the city's tribes in disarray, fractionalized and at each other's throats. Your attack on the Mall Rats has alerted them to the danger and now they will be ready."

"Give me another chance. I can still make it right."

"You had your chance and you failed. Now the others will have to deal with the consequences of your failure." The traitor takes out her dagger and stabs Becca in the back.

The others Bringers gasp in shock at the murder of their leader, but do nothing to prevent it. The traitor wipes the dagger on Becca's shirt and points it at a girl.

"Dee...." The girl steps forward at her name. "You lead the Bringers now. Get them ready, the others are coming." The traitor's eyes return to normal and she passes out at Dee's feet.

*~*

A short time later Jack is walking through the market stalls. He's been looking for Ellie for over an hour and still hasn't found.... He found her. She's coming in from the sewer entrance and it's clear from the way she's acting she doesn't see him. He was about to call out to her when she she sprints away in the direction of her room.

Outside Pride is looking for May. He spots her walking casually toward the mall. She greets him with a warm kiss. He asks her where she's been and she answers that she went for a walk to clear her head.

Pride is shocked that May would do something so foolish especially with those Bringer crazies on the loose. May told him she was very careful and that it's sweet he's so worried about her. She kisses him again and they walk back to the mall hand in hand.

*~*

The journey back from the Complex was made in complete silence. No one felt much like talking. What was there to say really? After arriving, Amber and Danni helped Ebony into the cabin. They put her in the room that Amber and Bray had shared, while Jason put Kay into his bed.

Bray then left to fetch the ingredients for the antidote. He returned about fifteen minutes later to find Zandra still sitting in the jeep. He rushed in to give what he found to Jason then went back outside to talk to Zandra.

"Zandra?" He said as he opened the door. "Why don't you come inside."

"Why don't you go to hell." She spat at him.

Bray was taken aback by her anger. "Zan...."

Zandra got out of the jeep. "You did it on purpose didn't you? You left him down there to die didn't you?" She started slapping him. "Didn't you!?!?"

"That's not how it was Zandra." He tried to explain.

"You've always hated him. You were just looking for a chance to get rid of him and you found it."

"Zan." Bray reached out to hold but she started hitting him again.

"I hate you!" She was hitting his chest with both fists. "I hate you! I wish it was you! I wish...." She started crying. "I wish...."

Bray held her close to him until she stopped struggling then just stood there and let Zandra cry into his chest.

*~*

"Uncle Jason said the antibiotics we got from the infirmary should help stop any infection." Danni said as she cleaned Ebony's wound.

"How bad is it?" She asked.

"Could've been a lot worse."

"I'm so glad to hear that, now I can go dancing."

Danni ignored her sarcasm. "It didn't do a major damage, just made a wicked hole in the meat." She wet another washcloth and placed it in the wound causing Ebony to wince slightly. "An inch higher and it would've shattered your knee."

"So is it true?" Ebony asked.

"Is what true?"

"Is Lex really gone?" Danni said nothing and that more than anything answered her question. "Fool."

"Why would you say something like that?"

"Because it's true. What would you call someone who just throws their life away?"

"He didn't throw his life away. We had to stop Styles and his followers from getting the antidote and this was the only way. Do you really think a city full of squabbling kids could've stopped an army like his? Kids with crossbows and baseball bats against trained soldiers with machine guns?"

"I'm just trying to say...."

"I know what you're trying to say and it's crap. Not everyone is as self-centered as you are Ebony." She tossed the dirty washcloth in a bowl on the floor. "I'm going to get some more clean washcloths. That wound has be as clean as possible. And I'll see if I can get something for the pain."

"Why are you doing this? I would've thought you'd enjoy seeing me in pain."

"Maybe you don't know me as well as you think Ebony."

*~*

"How is she?" Amber asked as she saw Bray come out of Jason's room.

"He gave her something to help her sleep." He replied as he settled down next to Amber and his children.

"Poor Zandra. I can't imagine what she's going through."

"I can." 

She looked at him knowing what he meant. Her supposed death at Eagle Mountain almost destroyed him. The fact that she was alive didn't lesson the pain of what he went through when he thought it was true.

She looked at him, her eyes saying sorry. He kissed her. "I just don't know what I'm going to say to Tai-San."

Amber didn't know either so she changed the subject. "How's Kay doing?"

"Jason gave her the antidote. We won't know until morning if she got it time or not."

Amber moved closer to Bray and rested her head on his shoulder. Each one had a baby in their arms. Neither of them noticed Danni watching them from behind. If they had, they would've seen a tear run down her face.

*~*

After announcing to everyone present in the cafe that Lex was gone, Tai-San ran to their room sobbing. The others didn't believe what she had said and thought that maybe she was just mistaken. Patsy knew different. Tai-San was special and if she said something had happened to Lex you can be certain she was right.

It didn't matter to Tai-San if they believed her or not, she knew what had happened and she would now always regret not telling him before he left.

She sat on her knees, watching the flickering image on the screen again. "There's a chance that I may not come back and I want you to know that I love you Tai-San." The image held out his hand, palm up and Tai-San touched her fingers to his one more time. "Always and forever."

Tai-San paused the image. "I'm so sorry Lex. I should've told you." She placed her hands on her belly as if to show him. "I'm going to have a baby Lex." She smiled through her tears. "Your baby."

EPILOGUE

From Amber's journal:

"It's been over a week since we returned home and the excitement of our return and the celebration at the birth of my children, not to mention the return of Patsy, Danni and Zandra to the Mall Rats has since faded and the realization of what has happened has begun to sink in." 

"Lex's death is like an open wound. Zandra has taken it so hard. She walks through the mall in a daze like her spirit has been ripped away. I never really knew how much she truly loved Lex until now."

"When we tried to inform Tai-San she told us that she already knew and closed the door in our faces. That was days ago and no one has seen her since. Alice thinks that Tai-San just wants to grieve alone."

"Bray learned two days ago from Pride that his brother Martin is still alive and was instrumental in helping to defeat the Bringers of Chaos. He's calling himself Phoenix now and although Patsy knows more about what's happened to him than anyone else she refuses to tell us anything saying Phoenix will tell us when he wants us to know."

"Danni is trying to help Ebony organize a Tribal council to discuss everything's happened. The emergence of the Bringers of Chaos is only the beinning and we have to be ready. I don't know if they can do it, but I have to go along with Ebony's suggestion that we not mention anything about our dreams, Order and Chaos, and the battle between good and evil. It's just too much to take in, even for us and we're stuck in the middle of it."

"Colonel Howard is making a rapid recovery. Jason got her the antidote just in time, another couple of hours and it would've been too late. We're keeping the both of them hidden in the mall for now, till we can decide the best way to reveal their presence to rest of the city."

"Pride has been named acting Sheriff in Lex's place by Ebony. Ryan has volunteered to be his new deputy. The look I saw on Salene's face when he announced his decision told me he hadn't discussed it with her. Something is going on there, I don't know what it is, but I hope they can work it through."

"The others are trying to go on as normally as they can, like nothing has really changed, without much luck I might add. But there are a few glimmers of hope. Cloe and KC are acting like only those in love for the first time are supposed to act. Ellie and Jack have grown closer again, but I can't help but wonder what will happen if and when Luke returns."

"Nika's tribe, being traders, have spread the word across the trade routes to be on the lookout for anything or anyone suspicious. She's promised us first access to whatever information they may get, for a price of course. A few stalls in the market place and one of the smaller hotels in Ebony's sector seems a small price to pay."

"So now we have nothing to do but wait… wait for what we know is to come. The peace we have now is merely a rest. None of us have any illusions about that. This is a break… a pause… the calm before the storm." 

END.

To be continued in.... "Calm Before The Storm"


End file.
